Village Hidden in Steel
by GenericSuperheroName
Summary: A new village formed after Naruto becomes the Sixth Hokage. Maemi, Jiro, and Michiko are not your ordenary steel nins, nor are the destinies.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Jishaku Maemi, Steel Shinobi

The calm wind blows during the black, moonless night. Stars shine dimly in the distance. In the fire nation, a new village has been formed; a village hidden in steel. Located by an iron ore mine, this village was founded shortly after Uzimaki Naruto became the sixth Hokage. Because of their location by a iron ore mine, it gives them an unlimited supply of iron, the key ingredient in making steel. The ninjas in the village of steel are master smiths and users of many steel weapons. But in a house, near the outskirts of the village, a young boy sleeps in his bed.He's failed the ninja academy three times due to poor grades. He's very good with the jutsu, but he's dumb as a rock. Yet still, this boy is special. Though it is hard to tell at the moment, he will become the strongest member of the jishaku clan.

As the sun rose, the light shined in the boy's eyes. Slowly his eyes flickered open, then shut quickly as the bright light stung his eyes. He sat up and stretched lazily in bed. "Damn sunlight…" he muttered. He got up and stretched to wake himself up. Then it hit him. The examination was today! Today was his chance to, once again, try to become a shinobi and receive the Village hidden in Steel headband. He smiled widely and quickly got dressed.

He rushed down the stairs, almost falling at one point. "Bye Mom!" he said quickly as he grabbed something small for breakfast and hurried to the academy. "Be careful!" His mother yelled back but she didn't know if he'd heard her or not. His father watched him hurry to the academy. His father was head of the Steel section of the Anbu and was disappointed by his son's repeated failed attempts to become a Genin.

The boy quickly opened the door and sat down in his seat as the bell rang. "Well. Early for once I see Maemi," the teacher said.

"Yes Suoh Sensei. I plan on becoming a shinobi this time!" Maemi said with glee. He was thirteen years old and had shaggy brown hair. He always pretended to be happy but was really sad inside. His father didn't care about him and his mother had begun to give up hope. His fellow peers mocked him for being student and was left alone. Yet with all this, Jishaku Maemi continued to be happy.

"Yes… I believe we've all heard that before." Suoh Sensei said. Some of the students began to laugh quietly. One of them was Meimei Jiro, a student who has failed twice because of his actions in class. His hair is dyed dark green and where's forest cameo pants with an olive green shirt. Maemi considers Jiro his rival but Jiro considers Maemi easy prey for his insults.

Class began and Suoh Sensei went over some last minute studying with the class. Maemi paid close attention, wanting to show his family he wasn't a failure. It wasn't long till the final examination began. Maemi was nervous, first was a written test and if you passed that you did three jutsus; he's never made it passed the test. As Suoh Sensei passed out the test form Maemi could feel the sweet dripping down from his forehead. He took a gulp of air, and began.

----------

"And pencils down. Please pass your papers up. In one hour you'll have your results. Until then I suggest you practice your Jutsus. Maemi, you can go back to bed now." Suoh Sensei said and started grading the papers. The student's laughed at him again. Maemi walked slowly to his tree, the tree he sat under every day after school when Jiro and everyone else mocked him.

The hour was nearly up and Maemi sat at his tree. He didn't know whether he should go back to the academy or not. Suoh could be right and he have failed the test again, but then again he had been studying a lot. Maemi jumped up and hurried back to the academy. A crowed stood by the academy doors, looking at the list of people of who passed and who failed. They all went silent when Maemi arrived. As he walked towards the list the students parted, allowing him passage. At the bottom of the pass list, with a 61, was Jishaku Maemi.

Maemi smiled widely when he saw that he had finally passed. True the grade was still a D but he passed nonetheless. He squeed loudly and jumped with excitement. He looked up at the rest of the students. The highest grade was Sumiyaka Michiko 100, surprise surprise. She was the smartest girl in the class, not the mention the cutest in Maemi's eyes. She had blond hair that went down a bit past her shoulders. She also had glasses that constantly slid down her nose making her push them back up every now and then. Her parents had held her back a few years to continue her jutsu training so she was actually a year older then he was.

Maemi looked down the list. There were a lot of Bs and a few Cs and Ds. Maemi's heart stopped, Jiro had gotten a 69, so much for his bragging rights. It said at the bottom to meet in ten minutes back in the classroom. Maemi went there strait away. Michiko was already in her seat, nose in a book like always. Maemi took a seat in the front, right by were Suoh Sensei would be standing. Before long, other students started coming walking in. Maemi could hear the loud stomping of Jiro's boots down the halls. He moaned slightly and waited for Suoh to start the second half of the exam.

"Well now, I see most of you have passed the first half of the exam. The first Jutsu you will be performing is the Airon no Jutsu. Use it to create a barrier around you one foot thick. Any volunteers?" Suoh Sensei explained. Michiko's hand shoot into the air followed by Maemi's. "Yes, Sumiyaka Michiko. If you would please come down and perform the Jutsu." Michiko walked down and preformed the Jutsu flawlessly.

"Any others?" Maemi raised his hand once more. Suoh sighed and motioned his hand for Maemi to come up. Like Michiko, Maemi preformed the Jutsu flawlessly. Some of the students started whispering about Michiko and Maemi. Some said that she had tutored Maemi. Others said that Maemi's Jutsu was better then Michiko's.

One by one the class preformed the jutsu. Some did the barrier too thick, others too thin. "Now then. The second Jutsu will be the Airon Ken no Jutsu. Please make your swords three and two thirds feet long." Once again Michiko and Maemi were the only one's to volunteer. Michiko passed flawlessly but Maemi's sword was only three feet long. Michiko had passed two of three Jutsus, which meant she had passed the exam and was a steel shinobi. Others had the same problem as Maemi; they weren't good and fractions and couldn't get the sword the right length.

"Now, for the third and finale jutsu you will perform the Airon kuro-n no jutsu. Your Iron clone must be a flawless copy of your self," Suoh Sensei turned and faced Maemi, "I assume you'll be volunteering for this Jutsu as well Maemi?"

Maemi gulped. He was good at the Iron Clones, but they were never perfect. There would always be some flaw in them. "Yes sir. I plan to become a Steel Shinobi and serve my village with pride."

"How noble of you. Come on. The sooner you get up here the sooner I can get to the students that actually stand a chance." Suoh Sensei said with a smile. None of the other student's laughed, snickered, or smiled; including Jiro. They have all seen how good of a shinobi Maemi could become. Suoh's face turned serious again as he watched Maemi.

Maemi took a deep breath and sighed. He quickly did the seals to do the technique. "AIRON KURO-N NO JUTSU!" Maemi yelled. A puff of smoke surrounded him and then there were two Maemis. Suoh Sensei started to walk around Maemi and his clone. He studied them carefully. He looked for some kind of flaw, anything small or minute that could allow him to flunk Maemi once again. Yet no flaw was detected.

Suoh sighed. "Maemi… Cancel the jutsu so you can get your headband." In another puff the clone vanished and Maemi squealed in excitement. He hurried out of the class to get his headband. After getting his headband he tied it around his arm and hurried home to show it to his mother and father. For once, he had done something good.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Exam 3

As Maemi laid in bed, he stared at his headband. He traced the outline of the shuriken on his headband with his thumb. The shuriken was chosen to be on the Village hidden in Steel's symbol because the village's smith's specialty was the shuriken and the kunai. The shuriken was then voted to be the village's symbols by the council of elders.

Maemi tied the headband on his arm again and got walked down stairs. It was nearly dinnertime and his mother had said she'd cook up a feast in honor of him becoming a Genin. Maemi could taste the sweet aroma of the food. His mouth began to water. It was his favorite, ramen noodle soup. He quickly got a seat at the table. His father came soon after.

"Maemi. Since you're a Genin now I think it's time for me to teach you one of the clans more powerful techniques. I figured tomorrow after you meet up with your new sensei and teammates." His father proposed.

Maemi smiled. This was the first time his father really talked to him with some form of pride in his voice. "Sure thing dad." Maemi said with glee. His mother placed down the food and Maemi dug in.

----------

The next day Maemi woke up late again. Like the day before he hurried down stairs, this time falling as he reached the bottom. He quickly got up and grabbed some breakfast and ran towards the academy were he'd meet his new sensei and teammates.

Maemi got his room number and hurried there. He opened the door to see he was the last one there. "So nice of you to finally join us Maemi." The sensei said. He motioned Maemi to his seat. "Now that you have finally joined us we can begin." Maemi looked at his fellow teammates.

Jiro was one of them. He had his headband tied around his forehead and changed his look a bit. He still wore cameo pants but also wore a cameo jacket now. His olive green shirt had the kanji for invisible in black spray paint on the front center of it. He also had a shuriken on a necklace now. A sign by his clan for become a shinobi.

Michiko was also there. Her hair was shorter now and wore her headband like a belt. She wore loss dark clothing over her skintight jumpsuit. Her glasses still continued to slide down her nose every now and then though. Maemi smiled a bit as he passed her, and then took a seat in the back.

"My name is Takai Akio. You are all members of squad 9. I believe you all know each other so we can skip introductions. If you'll follow me to the training grounds, we can get started on the final exam." Akio Sensei said.

"What are you talking about? We pasted the both tests and are Genin. You should be training us and taking us on missions!" Jiro yelled out.

"As expected. Most students react in that way. This final exam is a field test designed by the Jounin in charge of the squad to see if you are truly worthy of the title Genin. Now hurry up before we have to give the field to the next squad and I fail all three of you." Akio Sensei explained in an impatient tone as he walked out the door. Michiko, Jiro, and Maemi followed.

----------

Outside, the sun shown bright and the trees rustled in the winds. Maemi waited eagerly for Akio Sensei to tell them what the field exam would be. Michiko studied her surroundings, unsure of what this third exam would be she wanted to be sure she was ready for anything. Jiro leaned against a tree as if he was too good for this. Akio Sensei walked out from the trees hold a big stick. He dragged the stick behind him making a line in front of the students.

"The third exam is simple enough. Three flags are hidden on the other side of this line. Your job is to get them and bring them back to your side of the line. This is to reenact a rescue mission. You must not get tagged by any of my shadow shurikens or kunais three times. If you dead your dead and fail the exam. You have five minutes."

The three of us stood still for a minute, expecting him to say go or something. "So this is basically capture the flag?" Jiro asked.

"You have four minutes." Akio Sensei said. After that, Jiro and Maemi quickly ran into the forest. Michiko staid behind. "Three minutes!" Akio Sensei yelled. Jiro and Maemi split up now. "Two minutes!" Maemi hid in the shadows and Jiro leapt into a tree. "One minute!" Michiko performing the seals for her clans jutsu. "FA-SUTO NO JUTSU!" She yelled. Michiko then disappeared.

As the final minute ran out and Akio steeped onto the 'war zone,' Michiko reappeared in the safety zone with her flag. "There, pointless task done." She said and took a seat in the shade of a tree. Akio Sensei was a bit shocked but then focused on the other two that were still in the forest.

Jiro leapt from treetop to treetop looking for the other two flags; one for him and the other to fail Maemi. When Akio Sense was visible in the distance Jiro froze. He quickly did the seals for his clans jutsu. "HITOSHIRENU NO JUTSU!" he yelled under his breath. Soon his body became invisible. He lept down from the tree, landing softly, and quickly ran ahead, trying to get away from Akio before his five minutes were up.

"Nice try Jiro. I've fought with your father and know the unseen jutsu quit well." Akio Sensei said and through multiple shadow kunais and shurikens in the direction that Jiro was in.

_Shit…_ Jiro thought as he saw the shurikens and kunais coming for him. At the last second he jumped to avoid. He grabbed onto the tree branch and pulled himself up. He felt a slight pinch as he pulled himself up. He looked at his foot. He had been tagged. There was a big, bright blue spot was there. He panicked. He could be seen easily now. He quickly took off in some random direction as his jutsu wore off. When he felt he was safe he quickly began to clean off the spot, but it wouldn't come off. "Shit… I'm dead." He muttered.

----------

Maemi walked through the shadows. He was being very away of his surroundings, wanting to be sure to find Akio Sensei before Akio Sensei found him. He saw it. A blue flag waving in the breeze. Maemi was about to go after it before he realized it could be a trap. "Airon kuro-n no jutsu!" He said. Four Steel copies appeared in a puff of smoke. He then started performing the seals for one of his clans jutsus. "Airon yuuchi no jutsu!" he said. Iron started coming towards him, little by little in unnoticeable clusters. He formed a line around him, about an inch high.

"Go!" he said and pointed at the flag. Maemi's clones speed out. They were ordered to take positions and retrieve the flag after one minute. Once they attacked he only hoped that the clones would survive Akio sensei's barrage of shurikens and kunais and get him the flag. Then he would only have five minutes to bring the flag back. Assuming Akio sensei was guarding the flag of coarse. They attacked. Nothing. No shurikens, no kunais, nothing. One of the clone lifted the flag from its position and multiple shurikens and kunais hit all four clones causing them to cancel.

"Well at least the trap got used on them and not me. But still. Maemi stood. As he walked the iron formed a protective cast around him. He made sure there was pace between the iron and him, just incase. He lifted up the flag and walked back into the shadows. He then hurried back, wanting to be sure he had some time left on his jutsu incase Akio Sensei turned up some where. Better safe then sorry.

----------

Jiro found his flag. It was green so he knew it was his. He grabbed his shuriken and threw it at the flag to nock it down, checking for traps. When the flag fell, shurikens and kunais flew in his direction. He quickly ducked to avoid them. He then preformed his unseen jutsu and retrieved the flag, then hurried back to shadows.

Jiro felt a pinch in his chest area. "Good thing were counting to three. That's a fatal hit right there." Akio Sensei said. "damn, damn, damn," Jiro muttered as he quickly began running back to the safety zone. Akio ran after him, throwing his shadow shurikens and kunais. Jiro dodged them, barely missing them. He couldn't go home a loser, he had to return a true Genin.

----------

Maemi's jutsu wore off just as he crossed into the safety zone. He saw Michiko sitting under the shade holding her yellow flag. "Wow. How long have you been waiting with your flag." Maemi asked. Michiko looked up.

"About two hours. Before Akio Sensei crossed his line I had my flag already." She said.

"Wow! How did you do that? That was fast." Maemi stammered as he walked towards the shade.

"My clan's jutsus specialize in speed. Getting this flag was quiet pointless to me." She said.

"Yeah. Well at least it was fun for me. I wish I could have seen your jutsu in action. Maybe I will some day." Maemi said, sitting next to Michiko. Michiko only shrugged, not really caring.

"Why are you different from everyone else? You seem to be the only one to treat me as an equal, not a egg head or a nerd or anything like that. Why?" She asked.

"I dunno. I guess I don't really care about that kinda stuff. I wana make friends with people because of who they are, not because of the stuff they know." Michiko smiled. She was actually showing emotion. She never really showed emotion before. She always acted bored, like everything we did at the academy was under her.

"That's sweet." Michiko said softly.

"You know Michiko, I like you… a lot. And I would love to take you out some time. Anywhere as long as I'm with you." Maemi said. He moved closer to Michiko, Michiko did the same. Their faces inched closer and closer together. Maemi was finally going to kiss Michiko.

"SHIT!" Jiro yelled as he jumped across the line. The last shadow shuriken that Akio Sensei had thrown went right over Jiro and hit Michiko in the head. She screamed slightly.

"YOU BASTARD!" She yelled as she jumped up and ran to Jiro and started kicking him in the side. Jiro yelled for help but Maemi stayed in the shade.

"That's enough Michiko," Akio Sensei said as he pulled her away from Jiro. Akio sensei sighed. "Well this is a first. Usually one or two of my students fail. Never before have all three passed. Well congratulations squad 9, you are worthy of the title Genin. Tomorrow we'll begin your training."

Michiko walked back over to Maemi. "I'd love to go out with you some time," she said and kissed his forehead softly. Maemi smiled slightly and stood up. He then took Michiko's hand as they walked back to the village.


	3. Chapter 3

_Yay! I got a revies. XD So happy. Well here's the next chapter. My fanfic sorda follows the Naruto manga except with some alterations. So you can basically figure out more or less what happens next if you watch or read Naruto._

Chapter 3: D missions

The sun was setting as Michiko and Maemi arrived back at the village. They had taken their time, resting under trees every chance they got. The stars were waking from their slumber as Michiko looked up at them. "The stars… they're so beautiful. Don't you think so Maemi?"

"The only beautiful thing I see here is you." Maemi said softly. _God that was lame. I feel so stupid._ Michiko smiled and kissed his cheek. _Maybe it wasn't so stupid after all._ Maemi smiled and led her to his tree. There they sat beside each other, Michiko laying her head on Maemi's shoulder.

As the two of them looked up at the stars Michiko's glasses slid down her nose again. "Damn glasses," she muttered.

"Lemme get it," Maemi said. As he moved to push her glasses up he kissed her softly on her lips. When Maemi slowly pulled away he pushed Michiko's glasses up. Michiko smiled and kissed Maemi back.

----------

The next morning they met in the training grounds. Maemi first went to Michiko's and then escorted her to the training grounds. Akio Sensei was waiting for them. Jiro came soon after Maemi and Michiko.

"Now then," Akio Sensei started, "I wana take notice in your little relationship." Akio Sensei lowered his head to be eye level with Maemi and Michiko. "If I see your relationship interfering with the missions one bit I'll be sure to transfer one of you to another squad and make sure you see very little of each other." Jiro smiled in a cocky sort of way. Akio Sensei looked at Jiro then. "What are you smiling at. At least they'll have each other. You got no one." Jiro's smile quickly vanished and became very serious.

"Sensei, what kind of mission are we on?" Maemi asked.

"Glad you asked that Maemi-San. We are on a recovery mission. One of the members of the village had an item of his stolen and we are to retrieve that item."

"Lemme guess, it a game boy or something like that?" Michiko asked.

"Close, it just a game."

"Why do I have to do that? I'm worth more then retrieving a stolen videogame. Why can we go on guardian missions of shit like that?" Jiro yelled out.

"Because your not ready for missions like that. Finish a few D level missions and I'll see if your ready for a C level."

Jiro paid no attention to Akio Sensei. He nearly folded his arms and frowned.

"Don't be such a baby." Maemi said.

"Just shut the hell up." Jiro said.

"Both of you stop it. The sooner we start the sooner we end." Akio Sensei said and started to walk off. Maemi and Michiko followed. Jiro sighed before following as well.

----------

The mission ended quickly. It wasn't anything big. Akio Sensei made it ninja mission like saying it simulated a retrieval mission. Maemi still thought it was dumb. The other missions that followed were the same. Maemi's father began training him in the clan's jutsus, working up to their ultimate jutsu.

----------

"Can we do a C level mission now?" Jiro asked.

"Yeah Akio Sensei. I think we've been doing good on the missions you've assigned us. I think we deserve a little reward." Maemi said.

"It would be a good change of pace." Michiko said.

"Fine. What ever. You all have shown improvement but I don't know if you're fully ready. But if you think your ready alright." Jiro smiled slightly at the news. "I'll get a mission from the village leader and we'll go on from there."

Maemi jumped for joy with the news. Michiko laughed slightly at how Maemi was acting. When Maemi turned around to see how Jiro was acting, he was gone. _Must of gone home already._ Maemi thought. He and Michiko took each other's hands and walked back to the village.

"This should be fun," Maemi said with a smile.

"Yes, it should." Michiko added.

"I wonder what we'll be doing…"

"I dunno. Probably an escort. That's usually what C level missions are. Escorts against muggers and thieves."

"Cool." Maemi said. When they reached Michiko's home Maemi kissed her goodbye, then went to his home. Maemi walked home with his hands behind his head, smiling. He looked up at the sky and sighed happily.

"Good your home," Maemi's father said. "It's time to start your training for our ultimate jutsu."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Tetsu Souran No Jutsu

Maemi smiled at the news. The Jishaku Clan's ultimate jutsu, tetsu souran no jutsu. The most powerful member of the clan, the creator of the tetsu souran no jutsu, was able to hold the jutsu for a solid thirty minutes. Maemi knew he'd never get that powerful. He hopped to achieve the level of his father, twenty minutes.

"Your really going to teach me the ultimate jutsu? But… you really think I'm ready for it. You were a Chunin when you learned it. Don't you think I should wait till I'm a Chunin as well?" Maemi rambled.

"No son. Jishaku Funato might have been a Chunin when he invented the tetsu souran no jutsu, but your powers are rivaling his now. You are showing a hidden power I was to blind to see. I really believe you are ready to use the jutsu." His father explained.

"You think I'll be able to start off with a long time period too!"

"No," His father said plainly, "Though you show powers that rival Funato, the jutsu will probably cancel out about five minutes in, maybe a couple more minutes. But that why you keep training yourself. Even though I believe twenty minutes is all my body will allow I still train to push for those extra few minutes."

"That's still cool." Maemi said with a smile.

"Now watch me closely." His father started releasing the seals. His hand signals were moving too fast for Maemi to keep up with. Tora, Saru, Ousu-Buta was all he could really pick out. He couldn't really tell what the others were.

"TETSU SOURAN NO JUTSU!" His father said as he finished the last seal. He then pushed his arms forward as metal started to circulate around his arms. Maemi watched in astonishment as armor formed around his fathers arms.

"What seals did you see? I might have been moving a little fast."

"I saw Tora, Saru, and Ousu-Buta."

"Not bad. I also used Ryu, Inu, and Hebi. There are ten seals using those six signs. Ryu, Ousu-Buta, Hebi, Inu, Saru, Hebi, Tora, Ryu, Tora, Saru. Try doing those hand signs quickly. You'll need to do them fast before you are disturbed. I want you to practice using those seals as fast as you can." His father explained and canceled the jutsu, putting all the metal back in its place.

Maemi concentrated on remembering the seals. He never really used Tora and Ryu that much and were hard for him to remember. He first did the seals in order. He moved slow at first, but speed up eventually. He moved faster, trying to be sure not to mess up one bit. Soon he was doing it nearly as fast as his father.

"Not bad. It only took you about an hour and a half to move up to that speed. Took me longer. Now, we'll focus on a small area. Focus your chakra on your hands. It'll give you control over the magnetic field within a twenty yard radius of you."

"Right." Maemi focused his chakra on his hands. He then started to release the seals. "TETSU SOURAN NO JUTSU!"

Maemi opened his eyes and looked at his hands. Chakra seemed to be flowing from them. He had done it. He had done the ultimate jutsu. True it was still at a rookie level but he had done something no other member of the Jishaku clan has done.

He moved his hands around. Nothing was really happening. He closed his fist and moved it towards him. Some metal items started hovering towards him. Maemi smiled widely. It was working.

"It worked! I can't believe it worked!" Maemi said with glee.

"I told you you'd be able to perform the jutsu. I didn't expect you to do it on your first try but you surly did do it. Your power truly dose rival Funato's." His father said with a smiled. Maemi put the items back and canceled the jutsu.

Maemi was breathing hard now. Sweat was dripping down his forehead. The jutsu had taken a lot out of him. More then he had realized.

"C'mon Maemi. You need to rest now. Then I'll be sure to tell mother to make a ramen for you in celebration of you mastering the jutsu."

Maemi smiled and nodded excitedly. He then hurried home to tell his mother. As soon as he got home he told his mother and went upstairs to his room to rest. He collapsed on his bed and fell into a deep, relaxing sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_Well here's chapter 5. I'm really excited about this fan fic. I'm already on Chapter 10 and I've only been eritting for about two weeks. So... yay!_

Chapter 5: Mission Brief

It was morning when Maemi woke up. "Damn…" he muttered as he rubbed his eyes, "Slept through dinner." His stomach rumbled and he patted it. He stretched and got dressed. He found a new set of cloths sitting on his dresser.

He smiled. These were close that showed the clan symbol with pride on it. Before it was just a small symbol on his sleeve of on his chest were his heart was, but not this time. He was finally recognized as an adult by his clan.

On his back of his new shirt was an big X made by two magnets. It wasn't too showy but it truly meant a lot to him. The shirt was black, his favorite color. He smiled widely and put on the rest of his clothes. He fastened his kunai pouch on the left side of his belt and the shuriken pouch on the right. He smiled and hurried down stairs to eat.

After breakfast he ran to Michiko's to tell her the good news. He knocked on her door and stepped back a bit. Her mother answered.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm here to take Michiko-Chan to the elder's for our mission assignment."

"I'm sorry Maemi-San, she's already left."

"Alright, thank you anyways." He said and bowed his head slightly. He then hurried off towards the elder's office to see why she left without him.

When Maemi finally reached the elder's office he looked around, seeing if maybe Michiko was waiting for him outside; she wasn't. Maemi felt depressed now as he walked up the stairs and opened the door. He walked to the room were Akio Sensei had said to meet him in. Jiro, Michiko-Chan, and Akio Sensei were waiting for him. Two elders sat beside a desk.

"Yes, now that the final member of team Akio is present, we can get started." One of the elders said.

"Naotatsu Sama is our village's greatest artists and probably the best in the country. He is to paint a portrait of the 6th for his birthday. You are too escort him to the leaf village." The other elder said.

"Don't you think Chunins should be guarding him, just incase?" Michiko asked.

"Shut up. We can handle it." Jiro said.

"Dose this mean we'll be able to meet Naruto Sama?" Maemi asked.

"Yes young one. You will be meeting the Hokage," The first elder said. Maemi smiled widely. He figured he'd ask Michiko why she left without him once they left the office.

"Then lets hurry! I've always wanted to meet the Hokage. It's been my dream to meet him because I want to one day be as powerful as him." Maemi said with his huge smile.

"You still have a long ways to go. Don't forget, Naruto Sama did find the way kill the evil Orochimaru and put a stop to the sound village," the second elder said.

"I know. I still plan to surpass him in power one day." Maemi said with a confident tone.

"Yeah… and then pigs fly." Jiro said.

"Shut the hell up ass hole!" Maemi blurred out. He then covered his mouth. "I'm so sorry for my rudeness elders. I don't know what came over me."

"It's alright young one. In my youth I would have reacted the same way to someone bad mouthing my dream." The first elder said.

"It's just that your dream is so high and you have yet to show your can come close to achieving that dream." The second elder said.

"I have. I preformed the Tetsu Souran no jutsu on my first try last night. I'm the first genin in my clan to do that. Father said my power will one day surpass Funato's." Maemi was being serious now. No one really thought very high of him since it took him so long to become a Genin, and now he was proving he was destined to be powerful.

"I see. I can tell you are truly destined to be a powerful shinobi. But one powerful enough to rival the Hokage we cannot tell yet." The first elder said.

"Naotatsu Sama will be waiting for you at the village's north gate in a half hour. I suggest you four get ready for the mission." The second elder said. Jiro, Michiko, and Akio started to leave, but Maemi staid.

"Elders, I have one more thing to ask you before I leave…" Maemi paused for a moment, "Why do you do that switching thing when you talk?"

"We're twins," the elders said simultaneously. Maemi smiled in a weird way before he followed everyone outside.

Maemi hurried to Michiko and put his hand on her shoulder. "Michiko, wait a second," he said softly. She didn't say anything as she faced him. Once the Jiro and Akio left he started talking.

"Why didn't you wait for me so we could come here together. I noticed you started to become a bit distant with me. Is there something the matter? Something I need to know?" Michiko eyes started to water. Maemi went to wipe them off but she pulled away.

"I'm sorry Maemi but I want to break up with you. You're a nice guy and everything but… what would happen if we went too far with our relationship. Akio sensei said he'd separate us and be sure we'd never see each other again. I couldn't live without seeing you. If we break up, sure it'll be hard at first but at least we would never be separated," Michiko explained.

Maemi was silent. "I see. Just remember, that I'll always care for you and will always be here for you," he said before walking off. He wiped a tear away as it ran down his cheek.


	6. Chapter 6

_Yay! Naruto's in this chapter... and the next 4 or 5 chapters I think. Also, the secret of Akio Sensei is uncovered here, more discused in the next chapter though._

Chapter 6: The C mission

Maemi went strait home to get ready. He ate a better meal and loaded his supplies. He packed up food, extra shurikens and kunais, light medical supplies, and clothing. When he was finally ready to go he walked off to the north gate to wait for the others.

Akio Sensei was already waiting. He had packed up for the trip and everything. Maemi sat across from him and waited. Jiro came next, Michiko came last. Finally Naotatsu Sama came after the half hour wait time.

Naotatsu Sama was an aging man, around his fifties. He was carrying his art supplies with him. "Here you are. I expect no harm to come to my supplies," Naotatsu Sama said with a high and mighty tone as he handed his stuff off too Maemi.

"Hey! I got my own stuff too worry about. Why didn't you get you stuff shipped ahead of time or just use the art supplies in the leaf village?"

"And have my supplies damaged by those roughens! Never! As for using the leaf villages supplies, I only use the best and I have the best."

Maemi rolled his eyes. "Maemi, just hold one thing. We'll each carry something to lighten the load," Akio sensei said. Maemi sighed happily as Jiro and Michiko took something to carry. Maemi expected to be left with the heaviest thing, which he was, but at least he got the other things off him.

After the chose of the art supplies was solved we set off. It would be two days of walking to reach the leaf village, then Akio sensei said they could stay there for a day to sight see, and then they'd go back home. Maemi was still excited about meeting the great Naruto.

----------

As night began to fall Akio Sensei found a good place for the four of them to rest. Jiro went to collect fire wood, Michiko would prepare something to eat, and Maemi would take first watch. Naotatsu Sama sat down by the pit Jiro had dug for the fire, waiting for everyone to be done.

Once the fire had started Michiko started boiling some water for soup. "Girl, what is that your making?" Naotatsu Sama asked.

"It's soup. Ramen noodle soup." Michiko answered with an agitated tone of voice.

"I'm sorry girl but I don't eat common people's food. I only expect the best."

"Well Ramen is real good. I'm sure you'll-"

"Who are you to say what I like and what I like. You have no say in the food I eat. Now make me some food fit for me." Naotatsu Sama demanded. Maemi ran to Michiko to keep her from attacking Naotatsu Sama.

"Calm down calm down. He's an ass hole we know. You kill him we all get in trouble. So just calm down. Say it's something else. Make it sound fancy or something like that so he'll think 'it's fit for him'" Maemi whispered.

"What are you talking about. I demand to know!" Naotatsu Sama yelled.

"Besides… I might just end up killing him instead." Maemi said with a smile. Michiko laughed a bit and smiled. Maemi went back to his post and Michiko went back too cooking.

When she finished she lied and called it something else, made it sound fancy. Jiro and Akio sensei knew it was to shut up Naotatsu Sama and followed along with the plan. Naotatsu Sama never knew he was eating 'common people's food.'

----------

The second day was just like the first. Nothing was really happening. Maemi got excited as the forest thickened. They were getting close to the village. Maemi leapt into the trees and climbed to the top.

"I can see it! I can see the mountain memorial!" Maemi said from the tree tops. He the jumped down and landed with a big smile. "About an hour or so more till we reach the gates is my guess."

Akio sensei smiled a bit. Maemi was freaked by this. Akio sensei had never smiled. He had never showed any emotion other then boredom around Jiro, Michiko, and him. He didn't know what was up but he began to pay more attention to Akio sensei from then on.

----------

The south gate of the leaf village was huge. Maemi had a huge smile on his face as he walked through them. A leaf ninja walked towards us to welcome us to the village.

"Welcome friends. I am Konohamaru, second in command of the Anbu. My big brother told me to meet you four here and show you around a bit," Konohamaru said.

"I've been traveling for three days-"

"Two days" Akio sensei interrupted.

"What ever. The point is I demand to see the Hokage now so I can honor him with a portrait done by me." Naotatsu Sama insisted.

"Of coarse. My apologizes. Right this way." Konohamaru said, motioning for him to walk ahead a bit. After Naotatsu Sama was out of earshot, Konohamaru knelt to eyelevel with Michiko. "Is he always like this?" he asked in a whisper. Michiko nodded and went to catch up with Naotatsu Sama, not wanting him to get upset and start another one of his rants.

Once they got to the building were the Hokage was Maemi was smiling nervously. He was incredibly excited about finally meeting the Hokage, but at the same time he was nervous about meeting him. What if he said something wrong, or couldn't say anything. What if he messes up? He looked up at Akio Sensei; he was smiling in that creepy way again. Maemi became serious again, not knowing what Akio Sensei had planned.

"It's ok," Michiko said softly. "I'll be there with you too. Nothing bad is going to happen. You can trust me, ok?"

Maemi smiled and nodded. They walked up the stairs, Konohamaru led the way. When they reached the door Maemi had a huge smile on his face. He was still in denial about the whole thing.

When Konohamaru opened the door, Naruto was sitting at his desk. He stood up and held his arms open wide.

"Welcome my friends from the steel village. I hope you had a wonderful trip here." Naruto said as he started walking towards them. He then stopped mid way and looked at Akio Sensei. "Hello again Hagane Akuma. What did you do with the real Akio?"

Akio Sensei smiled and with a puff of smoke, canceled his copy jutsu. "He's been dead for quiet some time now. And I'm glad tosee you remember me Naruto. This time I'll be sure to end your life."


	7. Chapter 7

_This chapter and the nexttwo are kinda short. I wanted to get good cliff hangers. I don't know about ch.10 though. It's been awhile since I wrote it that I don't remember. Oh well. Hope you like it._

Chapter 7: Hagane Akuma

Hagane Akuma was not dressed like a normal shinobi. He wore a metal mask that covered the lower part of his face, his mouth and nose. The part that covered his nose continued up to his forehead were it made a point. His hair was black and went down to his shoulders. He also wore a metal chest plate, the armor protecting the shoulders extending out more to form a point. On the center of the chest plate was the symbol of the Steel village, the shuriken. Hagane Akuma's legs were the only part of his body that didn't have any armor on them. Just regular, black pants.

Maemi couldn't believe it. Akio Sensei was never Akio sense, but Hagane Akuma. He had heard rumors about him. He was supposed to be a good child growing up. He was called Hagane Akuma Steel Demon when he started causing trouble in the village. Maemi was never told Hagane Akuma's real name though. When he tried to make an assassination attempt on the elders he was banished from the village. There were rumors that he had joined the Akatsuki, but it was obvious now that he didn't.

"You can try all you'd like Hagane Akuma, but you'll never succeed. I don't even thing you have what it takes to take on your three 'pupils.'" Naruto said.

Maemi jumped back a bit. _Why is the Hokage dragging us in? We're no where near close enough to beat him. Why can he just hurry up and kill him?_

"Big brother, he is an S-ranked criminal. Do you think its wise dragging these children into this kind of battle?" Konohamaru asked.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they can handle it. If I remember my team handled Zabuza and Haku when I was they're age, by the looks of it I was younger." Naruto said with pride, "Besides. If it dose get out of hand you and I will be here."

"Alright big brother. I trust your judgment." Konohamaru said softly.

"So what your telling me is that all I have to do is beat these three Genin to get to you?" Hagane Akuma asked in a cocky tone.

"That's right. I'll be all yours. Assuming you can get past them," Naruto said calmly.

"Shouldn't be too hard. I am their Sensei and know their strengths and weaknesses quite well." Maemi could tell Hagane Akuma was smiling, even though he couldn't see Hagane Akuma's smile.

Hagane Akuma began doing hand seals. "TETSU SOURN NO JUTSU!" he said. Two iron gauntlets began to materialize on his wrists. Three claws then jolted upward. "This should be fun…" He said in a mocking tone of voice.

Maemi couldn't believe what he heard. Tetsu Souran no Jutsu was his clans ultimate technique. How dose he know it… unless.

"I see your not that dumb nephew." Hagane Akuma said. He then took off his mask. It was unmistakable. Though the hair might be longer his face was still the same. It was Funato.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Battle with the Steel Demon

Maemi couldn't believe it. Not only was Hagane Akuma really Funato, but his uncle as well. No wonder his father knew more about Funato more then other members of the clan, they grew up together.

Maemi began doing the hand signs for the jutsu as well. "TETSU SOURAN NO JUTSU!" Maemi yelled. This time he focused the chakra on his arms. This time it was taking more of stamina to since he was focusing on a much larger part of his body.

The iron began to surround his arms like it did with his father that night, but not quiet. The iron around his arms was more liquid-like then solid. "This should be fun," Maemi mocked.

Maemi took a defensive fighting stance. Beside me Michiko took and offensive stance. Jiro also took a offensive stance, but, unlike Michiko, charged in without any strategy. Funato grinned and slapped Jiro on his cheek with the back side of his hand, flinging Jiro into the wall.

"Are you sure you're willing to endanger these kids live Naruto? It could all be avoided if you just agreed to fight me now."

"FA-SOTO NO JUTSU!" Michiko yelled. In the blink of an eye she diapered. Funato caught her kick before she hit his face. He smiled again in his creepy way. "What… how…"

"I said I knew all your strengths and weaknesses. Fighting me is useless. The only one here I'm interested in fighting is my nephew. I want to test his limits with the Tetsu Souran no Jutsu." He said as he threw Michiko towards the other wall. Michiko hit the wall with a crash and cried out.

Maemi glared at Funato. His gaze was cold and emotionless. "Don't you dare even think of hurting her again." Maemi said. Maemi's fighting stance changed from defensive to natural. It was a stance to confuse the opponent of what he was planning. Michiko sat up then, rubbing her head.

"It's alright Maemi, I'm alright." She then stood up and took on the offensive stance again. "AIRON KURO-N NO JUTSU!" She yelled. In a puff of smoke she had created four iron clones. Each clone then preformed hand seals. "FA-SOTO NO JUTSU!"

"If it didn't work the first time it won't work the second." Funato said.

"If at first you don't succeed…" The Michikos said. They all disappeared.

"Try!"

"Try!"

"Try!"

"Try!"

"Again!" they said one by one as they attacked.

"This is tiresome…" Funato said. As one of the Michikos attacked him he slammed his fist into her chest. "Die…" He said as he jolted the claws through her. The claws tips could be seen coming from her back. Michiko let out a cry of pain. The iron clone jutsu canceled and the real Michiko rested skewered on Funato's claws.

"Shit…" Naruto muttered. "SAKURA-SAMA! EMERGENCY!" Naruto yelled.

Funato then slammed Michiko's limp body to the ground, his claws still in her. She cried and coughed up blood. Funato smiled. "I should of done this a long time ago…" he said. The claws for his other gauntlet jolted forward. He laughed as he began to bring down his fist towards her head.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Maemi's Hidden Power

"M-Michiko…" Maemi muttered as she was slammed to the ground. "NO!" He yelled as he punched the air in Funato's direction. The liquid metal around his arm extended and hit Funato, inches from him hitting Michiko. He yanked out his claws out of Michiko and was slammed into the wall.

Maemi could feel the power running through him. His glare was cold emotionless. He quickly ran to Michiko's side and gently lifted her in his arms. She smiled weakly when she say him. Blood was dripping down from her mouth.

"Michiko… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to stop him." Maemi said softly, tears forming in his eyes.

"Shush…" she said weakly. "It's not your fault. I just wanted… to… show… off…" she trailed as her body became motionless. Tears streamed down Maemi's face.

"Never again…" he said coldly as he laid Michiko down. "Never again will my loved ones suffer for my weaknesses…" He stood up. His eyes glairing at Funato. Chakra could literally be seen around his body. His hairs rustled slightly from the power of his chakra.

Funato stood up, shaking the dust off him. "Caught me by surprise you little bastard."

"TETSU SOURAN TO JUTSU!" Maemi yelled. The liquid metal around his arms began to surround his body. Only his head wasn't covered. Funato smiled.

"So you are powerful. Not even I can do that and keep the iron in the liquid state." Funato said with a smile.

"You killed Michiko. I'll kill you for that." Maemi said.

"I said I'd be sure to separate you too if the relationship got to far. Guess I wasn't specific enough." Funato laughed.

Maemi charged Funato. Funato smiled and charged him as well. They both went to punch each other. As their fists got closer, the claws and gauntlet that was on Funato's wrist began to melt and merge with Maemi's suit. Maime's fist turned solid as it his Funato.

There was a loud, sickening crack as the bones in Funato's hand shattered.

"My hand… you bastard!" Funato rambled in anger. With a broken hand he couldn't do the hand seals to use jutsus. The other gauntlet melted and merged with Maemi's suit.

"Until next time Hokage…" Funato said as he ran to a window. Maemi raised his hand and stopped Funato. "Huh! What?" He rambled. Maemi brought him closer to him.

"You killed the girl I loved. I will not let you kill another." Maemi said coldly.

"You can't kill your own uncle. We share the same blood." Funato said with a nervous tone. The way Maemi was now, he could destroy half the village unless he was stopped or calmed down. This hidden power of his was truly one to be worried about.

"I don't care who you are. You're worthless to me." Maemi said. Maemi moved the liquid metal to Funato, his chest plate merged with the liquid. He had it surround his entire body.

Slowly, Maemi began to slowly close his open hand. The metal began to tighten around Funato. The closer Maemi's hand came to being a clenched fist, the less and less space Funato had. The sickening sound of bones snapping could be heard. Funato's cries of pain rang out. Maemi smiled in an evil way as the cries stopped. He finished crushing Funato's body before he deposited his body some where. When it was all over Maemi returned to normal.

"-OP!" Naruto yelled. It seemed in his state he was blinded by everything but himself and Funato. As Maemi turned to face them he collapsed from lake of stamina. Sakura-sama ran to Maemi's aid as she finished healing the near death Michiko.


	10. Chapter 10

_Something about Maemi that I didn't really plan on doing. But I sorda like it._

Chapter 10: Source of the Secret Power

Slowly, Maemi opened his eyes. A bright light from the ceiling shinned down upon him. He covered his eyes with his hands and sat up. His head was throbbing with pain. When Maemi opened his eyes again he could see he was in a white room. The throbbing pain in his head wouldn't stop. When he gently touched his head he felt bandages wrapped around his head.

_Was the fight really that bad?_ He thought.

"Wha… what happened? Where am I?" He murmured.

"You're in leaf's hospital." Someone said. Startled, Maemi quickly turned to see who it was. A woman dressed in a nurses gown sat in a chair beside him. She had pink hair and a kind smile.

Maemi knew who she was. Anyone who knew about the Hokage's life knew who see was. It was Sakura-Sama, Naruto's wife.

"What about Michiko-chan? Did she really die?" Maemi asked, regaining some strength.

"She's fine. I was able to treat her injuries while you fought Funato. In a couple of days when you fully healed and feel 100 back to normal… Naruto-Sama would like to speck to you in private." Sakura said.

"In private? About what?" Maemi asked with curiosity.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. He just said it was important."

"I see. Now Michiko, is she awake or is she still sleeping?"

"She's actually returned to the village already. Maemi-san, you've been in a coma for over a month. I've been checking on you daily to see if they're had been any improvements. You surprised me when you awoke, we were all afraid that you'd be in that coma forever."

"Coma… damn… it's all… a blur now…" Maemi stammered.

"Rest now. You should rest so you can heal properly." Sakura said softly as she gently pushed on his chest to lay him down and then covered him.

----------

The bandages have been removed and Maemi was better now. He walked down the halls towards Naruto's office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in, come in…" Naruto said from inside. Maemi pushed the doors open and walked inside the office. Naruto looked up to see who it was. When he saw Maemi walking towards him he sat up.

"Sakura-Sama said you wanted to see me." Maemi said.

"Yes. I was wondering if you knew the legends of the Bijyuu?" Naruto asked.

"Yes sir. I know the Kazekage has the Ichibi and you have the Kyuubi. I know that they're nine of them and you have the ninth and most powerful of the demons."

"That's right. All the demons are normally sealed in a human body, normally passed from generation to generation. The Kyuubi was the only one to not be sealed in a body until the fourth Hokage sealed it inside me. I have reason to believe that you also have a Bijyuu inside you."

"What? A Bijyuu inside me… but how. My father didn't have a Bijyuu in him. And why do you think I have a Bijyuu in me.

"Your father might not of had the Bijyuu, but Funato did. Your father and Funato are twins. One had the Bijyuu; the other had the ability to pass it. The way you acted in your fight with Funato, I know you have a Bijyuu in you. Though I don't know which one it is, I advise you to be on your guard. Fragments of the Akatsuki will try to hunt you down to get your Bijyuu. Be careful. I'll have some members of the Anbu escort you home when you're ready."

"I think I'm ready now. The main thing I wanted to do was meet you. You're my idol. I want to be just like you. It's my dream to surpass you in power." Maemi said with a smile.

"You still got a long ways to go but don't give up. No one thought I'll ever become the Hokage when I was your age and look at me now." Naruto said.

"Thank you Naruto-sama." Maemi said, then bowed his head politely.

"Gather your things and go to the south gate. Two members of the Anbu will be waiting for you there."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Gobi Bijyuu

Maemi went to the south gate like Naruto said. Waiting for him were two of the most famous members of the Anbu; Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Neji. Maemi smiled when he walked up to them.

"This is an honor to meet the two of you. Your actions are legends at my village." Maemi said.

"So this is Fusashi-kun's son. He speaks very highly of you." Shino said.

"I hope he feels the same when he realizes you're a Jinchuuriki. I remember when Naruto was your age it took awhile before the village seemed to forget he was a Jinchuuriki." Neji said.

"Well C'mon. I'm sure it'll be a surprise for your father to see us too escorting you home." Shino said.

"Yeah… he'll probably think I'm in trouble or something." Maemi said with a smile. Shino started walking, Naruto followed, and Neji took the rear.

"Hey Shino-san. I just realized something." Neji said.

"What's that Neji-kun?" Shino said.

"We haven't told Steel about the Chuunin Exams yet. Perfect opportunity don't you think?"

"Sure is."

"The Chuunin exams are coming soon! I hope my sensei will allow it. I mean my new sensei who ever he is." Maemi said.

"I'm sure you're team's more then ready." Neji said with a slight smile.

----------

A crowd was gathering by the north gate of the Steel village. Everyone was excited about me returning home. It was obvious that news of me defeating Funato spread quickly through the village. Maemi expected the news of him being a Jinchuuriki would spread just as fast.

Maemi noticed someone pushing their way though the crowd.

"MAEMI!" a voice cried. Michiko pushed her way out and ran towards him. She jumped into his arms and talked him into the ground. She was crying hysterically. "I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-so happy you're al-al-alright…" she stuttered between sobs.

"It's alright. I'm safe and back here with you." He said as he kissed her softly. She smiled and then got off him so he could stand. Maemi helped her up then they walked back to the village with Shino and Neji.

Maemi looked through the crowed for his father, but he didn't see him anywhere. _He must be at home…_ Maemi thought as he ran towards home, followed closely by the Anbu.

When he reached home he could see the shadows of his mother and father through the drawn curtains of the window. He walked inside. "Mom… Dad… I'm home." Maemi said softly, looking around.

"MY BABY! YOU'RE SAFE!" his mother ran to his side and hugged him tightly.

"God afternoon Hatsu-chan," Shino said. She looked up with a jerk by the sound. She was shocked to see him.

"Shino-san… Neji-kun… What are the two of you doing here?" she asked.

"Naruto-Sama instructed us to escort Maemi-San home. Is Fusashi-kun home?"

"Yes. I'll take him too you, follow me."

----------

Fusashi grieved the loss of his brother in his office. True they had grown apart and he did not like Funato that much, but they were still brothers. And what was worse, his own son killed Funato. Now when ever he sees his son, he looks at his brothers killer.

"Fusashi… You have some visitors." Hatsu said.

"Not now. Tell them to come back tomorrow." Fusashi said with sorrow.

"It's Shino-san and Neji-kun. They came here with Maemi." Fusashi jumped up and started to straiten his office up a bit.

"Just give me a minute…" he said as he did some finishing touches. He then calmed himself down and opened the door. "Sino-san, Neji-kun, what an honor it is to have you in my home. Might I ask what brings you to our small village?" Fusashi asked, shutting the door after Neji.

"Naruto-Sama wanted us to escort your son home." Neji explained.

"Escort my son? I hope that he did not cause any trouble there after the fight?" Fusashi asked.

"No. But the reason dose tie to the fight. Naruto-Sama believes your son has a Bijyuu. He explained to us his theory. Since you and Funato were twins you both would have it. But the two of you weren't identical so only one of you would have the Bijyuu in him…" Shino trailed a bit, "The other would be able to pass it. Since the Bijyuu was split it wasn't as powerful as the others, that's why even when using the Bijyuu's Chakra, Funato still wasn't much more powerful then before. Maemi has the full power of the Bijyuu. He'll become quiet powerful when trained right. I advice you to keep an extra eye on him. Naruto-Sama hasn't finished cleansing us of the Akatsuki. They still have fragments around the world. Your son is in danger at all times once they find out about the Bijyuu in him."

Fusashi sat still in his chair. It was hard for him to absorb this.

"Before we leave, Naruto-Sama would like to know if you know which Bijyuu is inside Maemi."

"Yes… Yes I know. It's the Gobi; the five tailed dog demon." Fusashi said softly.

_They'll be another Bijyuu but it'll be introduced in the Chuunin exam which is what I'm almost at. I'm sorda reached a writter's block. sweat Plus works been murder since I'm doing extra hours and stuff._


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Chuunin Training

A few days have passed. Shino and Neji were back at the leaf village. Word had gotten round about the Chunin exams in a few months. Apparently not as many villages would be there. Leaf and Sand of coarse would be there. The smaller villages included Steel, Grass, and another new village called Earth. Earth started up around the same time as Steel, but in, of all places, the Earth country.

Maemi sat under his tree with Michiko outside their old academy. Jiro had even begun to soften up a bit towards them after the fight with Funato. He was still an ass towards Maemi when he got the chance, just not as much.

Maemi noticed the doors to the academy swing open. A loud crash filled the air as the door slammed against the wall of the academy. The sound made Michiko jump. Maemi looked with curiosity at the academy, wondering who it was.

A woman was walking towards them. She wore a tight, black jump suit. She wore a padded Jounin vest and a padded pants with plenty of pockets to hide ninja "toys." Her blond hair was sleeked back and rustled slightly in the wind.

"I take it the two of you are Michiko and Maemi?" She asked as she walked up to them.

"Yeah… Who are you?" Maemi asked.

"My name is Aneko. I have been assigned to be your new teacher by the elders." Aneko said sternly. She seemed to be in a serious mood.

"I know you. You're Kida's older sister," Michiko said.

"Yes I am. I was recently appointed Jounin and you are my first group of students to teach."

"Well that's cool. And just a heads up, Jiro's an ass hole." Maemi said. Michiko punched his arm playfully. "Well it's true!"

"Where is Jiro? We can't start your training for the Chuunin exams unless he's here."

"WHAT! That's so not fair!" Maemi complained.

"I'm sorry but unless he's sick I'm not starting." Aneko said. Michiko quickly sat up a few seconds before Maemi leapt to his feat and sprinted in some random direction to look for Jiro.

"Well he sure is fast…" Aneko said as she watched him run off.

"Only when he wants to be," Michiko said as Aneko sat beside her.

----------

"Alright. As you three know, my name is Aneko. I have been assigned by the elders to be your new Sensei since your old one turned out to be a dangerous criminal. But that's beside the point. The point is, the Chuunin exams are in two months. The two biggest participants are the Leaf and Sand villages. Grass and Earth are the two smaller villages that are participating. Our village can only afford one team to go to the exam. In a month and a half, all worthy groups will be faced in a tournament to see who will go to the exam. I will be training you in ways to be sure your team is that one to go to the exams. Is everything clear." Aneko explained with a stiff voice.

"Yes Aneko Sensei," Maemi and Michiko said.

"What ever," Jiro said. Aneko glared at Jiro for a momentarily then went back to talking.

"Now then, I'll first be teaching you Steel Dragon jutsu…"

----------

It's been nearly a month since Aneko Sensei started training Maemi's team. She's begun to mold Michiko after herself, a ninja that uses a lot of "toys" in her battles.

Aneko also has been teaching them a lot of advanced Jutsus, including the first one she taught them. The Iron fist was another jutsu that she taught them that was a bit on the difficult side to master.

Aneko Sensei had also begun to lighten up. She wasn't as serious all the time around them. She was more laid back when they were just goofing around, but was still serious when it came to the training.

Jiro had begun to isolate himself again. It took him the longest of the three to be able to master the jutsus Aneko Sensei was teaching them. He also began talking about this powerful clan jutsu, not to mention his training for his clan's ultimate jutsu.

Michiko was a master of the ninja toys. She also carried a sword on her back. She was very proud of her sword as well. She had been learning other clan jutsus as well.

Maemi was mastering all of the jutsus quickly. He was becoming quiet fond of the Iron fist jutsu. He was also a born and raised lover of Dragons so the Steel Dragon jutsu was another favorite of his. His father told him that his clan used to be able to summon dragons, but the contract scroll was lost and they could no longer summon them. But they were still trained in their wisdom.

----------

The month and a half was up. The tournament was but days away. Aneko Sensei was proud of her students' growth in such a short time. Their training with her, was about to come in handy.


	13. Chapter 13

_And the tournamit for Chuunin exam participation begins! This chapter sucks just to warn you, long and sucks. I wish I could have made it better but I just didn't really know what else to add that wouldn't make it suck more... oh well. Hope you still enjoy it._

Chapter 13: Team Aneko vs. Team Yukio

The day of the tournament had come. The entire village was over at the main academy in the village's heart. The academy had a large courtyard, perfect for the tournament to be held in. The villages filled into the entrances, eager to see who would be going to the leaf village for the exam.

Maemi stood on a tree branch, smiling eagerly. He watched the people hurry inside, talking non stop about how they hope the fight will be. Only four teams were entered to our tournament. Team Aneko would be fighting against Team Yukio and Team Ayami would be fighting against Team Kana. Maemi leapt out of the tree and headed into the team entrance.

Michiko, Jiro, and Aneko were waiting in the assigned classroom when Maemi walked in. They were all a bit antsy, even Jiro was a bit on the nervous side.

"Everyone won't shut up about us. They all are talking about how great of a fight they know we'll put up," Maemi said.

"They mean a fight you'll put up. We're all shit compared to you," Jiro said.

"If I'm not mistaken you've mastered all the techniques Aneko Sensei threw at us. Some of those were pretty advanced. And what about that powerful clan jutsu you were talking about?" Maemi asked, trying to raise Jiro's self-esteem.

Jiro smiled in his creepy way. "Yeah… Let me get a bit of fighting done first ok Maemi. I wana show it off." He said.

"Alright. Just don't hog up all the fun."

Aneko sighed in relief. Maemi's plan to raise Jiro's self-esteem was working. Jiro wasn't doubting himself anymore.

"What about me? I don't have any supper powerful clan techniques. My clan techniques are mainly manipulating the time around me allowing me to move faster. They haven't taught me how to manipulate time around others yet," Michiko said softly.

"Michiko, your smart. You can plan out strategies incredibly quickly when you need too. You've also mastered all the jutsus Aneko Sensei gave us. That's a great accomplishment for a Genin. I'm proud of my accomplishments, and you should too. We should go there proud of ourselves, and whether we go to leaf or not we should leave proud as well," Maemi said.

Jiro laughed slightly. "You had it going till that corny closing line," Jiro said.

"Corny or not he's right. You all have done so much in such a short time. In my eyes you three are already Chuunin," Aneko Sensei said.

The door suddenly opened. A man was standing their. "Team Aneko, you have five minutes to get ready while we clean up the ring from the last fight. Good luck." The man said.

"Might I ask who won?" Aneko said, remembering her sister was also in this tournament.

"Team Kana," He said as he closed the door. Aneko slumped into her seat. Her sister was in team Kana. Sure Aneko was happy that her sister's in the finals, but if her team won, then Aneko's team would be fighting against her sister's. Hell would be released for sure.

----------

Maemi stood beside Michiko and Jiro stood in front of the two of them. On the other side were older Team Yukio; Kuma-Chan, Miyo-Chan, and Kaemon-Kun. The three of them were older then Maemi's team. From what he knew this was their third time trying to get to the Chuunin exams.

The head elder stood up in the stands. "This is an endurance battle. The six of you will be fighting until one team has fallen. There will absolutely be no killing. Good luck to you six." As the elder sat down the man who they saw early walked into the center of the field holding a flag in each hand.

"You know the rules. Any rule breaking will be cause a automatic disqualification." He said and looked at the two teams briefly. He raised the flags high above his head. "BEGIN!" He yelled as he quickly brought his hands down and leapt out of the ring.

Jiro smiled. As he stabbed the center of his palm. He slammed his palm into the ground. "SUMMINING NO JUTSU!" he yelled.

"No way…" Maemi muttered. "His family has a summon creature…"

The ground beneath Jiro began to crack. Jiro was laughing as a huge, black lizard crawled out of the ground. "Behold the might of Kuro Tokage!" He said and laughed. Jiro sat comfortably on Kuro Tokage's back.

It was obvious to Maemi, Jiro was exhausted. Once Kuro Tokage left, he would be a sitting duck. Maemi began performing the seals for a jutsu.

"YOROI NO JUTSU JIRO AND KURO TOKAGE!" He yelled. Armor started to form around Jiro and Kuro Tokage. Jiro looked back at Maemi and smiled in a not so creepy way.

"He's going to fail." Michiko said.

"What makes you say that? That Kuro Tokage looks pretty tough." Maemi said.

"Kuro Tokage is a reptile, reptiles die in cold. I believe its Kuma-Chan clan that specializes in manipulating ice. By you putting the armor on them you only increasing the drop in temperature." Michiko explained.

"Well that's just great," Maemi said. "JIRO! TAKE OUT KUMA-CHAN FIRST! SHE'S CAN USE ICE JUTSUS!"

"And that lessens our time to come up with a plan." Michiko said.

"Sorry… I was only trying-"

"To help. I know. Well know that they know that he knows they'll take him down faster. Use the Steel Dragon jutsu when you have the chance. It has the strength to take at least one of them down and give a warning to Team Kana that if we win, they're in for trouble."

"Alright." Maemi charged into the battle performing the hand seals for the Steel Dragon Jutsu.

"THIS IS MY TURN! DON'T INTERFERE!" Jiro yelled.

"I'm helping you. HAGANE RYU!" Maemi yelled. Maemi then clapped his hand, a loud boom was heard. When he separated his hands a liquid metal sphere was there. Maemi jumped back as the sphere began to grow. It began to take the shape of a dragon. Standing on all fours with a huge set of wings the metal became semi solid, hard yet flexible.

Maemi smiled at the dragon as he breaths quickened. The jutsu used up a lot of charka, but he could hold his own better then Jiro could. "Steel Dragon! Attack Kuma-chan!" He yelled.

As the dragon moved to attack Kuma, Miyo and Kaemon quickly went to guard her. That's when Jiro attacked them, taking their aim away from the dragon.

It didn't take long for the judge to rule Kuma out. The two on one battle against Kuro Tokage seemed to be too much for the lizard and retreated in a puff of smoke. Luckily for Jiro Miyo and Kaemon were getting tired which gave Jiro a chance to take another one of them down.

"AIRON KURO-N NO JUTSU!" Jiro yelled. He created three clones, four Jiros in total. They began to take on Miyo and Kaemon, two on one. With a swift kick by Miyo, the jutsu canceled out and Jiro laid on the floor in pain. She had just kicked him in his crotch.

"That's low!" Maemi yelled.

"Really? Oh well." Miyo said.

"TETSU KOBUSHI NO JUTSU!" Maemi and Michiko yelled as they did the jutsu in unison. Iron surrounded their fists as formed a dangerous weapon. They both charged into battle with Miyo and Kaemon. Michiko's pace quickened suddenly, not giving Miyo or Kaemon any time to react. Giving a swift punch to the gut to Miyo and a kick to the head for Kaemon, they both hit the ground and were out.

"TEAM ANEKO WINS!" the judge yelled. The first round was over. Tomorrow the finals began.


	14. Chapter 14

_Short chapter. Sorry. It sets up the next four though which I believe are longer. Hope you like it. I won't be able to update Thursday cause I'm going out of town so I'm going to update... Saturday._

Chapter 14: The Finals

Maemi fell on knee when the judge declared them victorious. The crowed cheered. Maemi smiled. He was one step closer to the Chuunin exam at the leaf village. Michiko helped him up and he regained his footing. They both walked to Jiro and helped him up. He smiled weekly, taking the hint that they won the battle.

----------

Loud talking and people cheering was heard. Team Aneko sat at the Red Dragon restaurant. She was treating them to winning the first battle. Jiro had the upper part of his left arm in bandages and a right black eye. Maemi and Michiko were still in one piece do to Jiro selfless act of attacking the opponents head on while Michiko thought up a plan.

Aneko raised her glass for a toast. "For completing the first round of the tournament. May you three have good luck tomorrow," she said.

"To us!" Jiro, Maemi, and Michiko said together as they clanged their glasses together. Maemi enjoyed this joyful time together. He knew that from this point on, just one screw up would cause mayhem in the team. Whether they won or loss that one screw up will hover above them until they acknowledge they're truly human and make mistakes.

As the food came Maemi smiled. He stared at his glass for a moment before having another toast in his mind. _To this peace and friendship. May it last forever…_

--------

The finals. Team Kana on one side, Team Aneko on the other. "Listen," Michiko started, "We'll have to divide this battle into one on one. They're strong. I can almost feel their strength. If we try to take them all on we'll be knocked off easily. Maemi, you take Haru-Kun. He's really strong but likes to show off. Try to make him use his powerful attacks early to drain him of his chakra. Then go in for the K.O."

"Right." Maemi said.

"Jiro, you go after his twin Haruko. He's the same as Haru but he doesn't show off. He's pretty agile so try to avoid using ninjitsu unless it's for defensive purposes. Try to lower his stamina before using offensive ninjitsu."

"Sounds like fun…" Jiro trailed.

"I'll go for Kida-Chan. Since she's Aneko's sister she's like her as well. We're an even match when it comes to the ninjitsu we use, but she's still a lot stronger then me. I'm hoping to devise some sort of plan while I move on the defensive. If either of you defeat your opponent and I'm still fighting, be sure to help so I can find her weakness. She's the strongest on the team and will more then likely be the last to fall."

Jiro and Maemi both nodded their heads. The same rules applied for this level as the last. No killing. Maemi, Michiko, and Jiro stared at Team Kana, and they stared back. They were all waiting for the ok to start.

"Don't charge in right away as well. Wait for them to make some sort of movement before charging in." Michiko added just before the judge yelled 'FIGHT!'

Team Kuna charged them. Team Aneko followed their lead. Maemi clashed with Haru, Jiro clashed with Haruko, Michiko clashed with Kida. Three battles were started from one. Only one team will pass and move on to the exams in leaf and become Chuunin. Only three Genin were leaving. Only three.


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry it took a while to get the chapter up. I was busy with some stuff and the Naruto New Years marathon was on and of coarse I had to watch it. They're only on vol. 3 or 4 ch. in the 30s and I'm waiting for the next ch. of vol. 32 to be released Ch. 289 or something like that. I'm so far ahead. Any ways here's the chapter and have a great new year._

Chapter 15: Maemi-San vs. Haru-Kun

Maemi and Haru stood, eye to eye. Their hands interlocked, pushing against each other. Both of them had them bared their teeth and growled from the strength they were using to keep the other at bay. With one last push they both leapt back to study each other.

Haru had his face paint on him. It went down the middle of his face, making his left side in red paint; but it was jagged at some areas. It pointed out at his eyes and inward at his mouth. His cloths were also red. His clan symbol was painted in the middle of his shirt in black. It was a circle with a line going down the middle, it pointed towards right at the top and left towards the bottom. It was like his face. Maemi got the hind fast enough. Haru and Haruko were strong enough alone, but they must have a clan jutsu that can merge them to make them even stronger. Hence the face paint and the clan symbol. Maemi had a new mission now beside beating him, keeping him away from his brother.

Haru suddenly started performing hand seals. _Powerful jutsu…_ he thought. He noticed his lips move but didn't hear the jutsu. "Shit…" he muttered. Maemi quickly ran away from the others to make it harder for Haru to hit him.

Haru punched the ground, creating a small crater were his fist was. The ground cracked at the center of the crater and quickly moved towards Maemi. A wall of fire shot up from the crack. "Shit!" Maemi muttered again as he changed direction. The crack followed him. "DAMN!" He said. Maemi changed his direction again, this time towards Haru.

"Big mistake fool…" Haru said as he started to do hand signs again. Once again Haru muttered the jutsu so Maemi couldn't hear. He punched the ground again. A wall of earth rose in front of Haru, blocking Maemi's path.

Maemi quickly did the hand signs for the Iron sword jutsu. He then sliced the wall of earth across the middle and pushed up on it so he could jump higher. _Time to show off a bit of Taijutsu…_ Maemi thought.

As Maemi started to descend he moved to be headfirst. He quickly put his arm out and grabbed Haru at the shoulders. Haru wasn't expecting this. Maemi made some quick moves and bent so he was landing feet first, facing the oncoming fire. As Maemi's body straitened he lifted Haru and threw him into his own jutsu.

A sharp pain surged in Maemi's side and ran up his body. He clenched his side and knelt down in pain. Clearly his body didn't like that move. As Haru hit the fire, the fire dropped back in the ground. Haru's body lay motionless on the ground. Smoke was rising from his body.

"Shit…" he muttered as he slowly began to stand, "did I just kill him." His body was still numb from pain, but it was lessening. Slowly Haru's body began to stir. At least his wasn't dead. Haru stood and turned to face Maemi. Maemi jumped back in shock, he wasn't expecting Haru to be like that.

His left arm was black and dead, or at least looked that way. It was blistered and smoldering. It was obvious that it had hit the fire when Maemi threw him into it. The shirt was also severely scored. The paint on his face and ran down his face and blended with his shirt. The paint ran because his head mildly hit the flam. Though it didn't cause any serious damage it did cause some minor burns. The gaze Haru was giving Maemi was of pure rage.

"Give up. You only have one arm and that means you can't use any jutsus." Maemi said.

Haru lifted his black arm and winced a bit. He then smiled in an disturbing way. "No… I can fight through the pain. I'll kill you for this…" He said.

"Fine. But it'll only be a matter of time before you can't take the pain any more." Haru smiled in that disturbing way again and, with his good arm, pulled off his shirt. Scars covered his body. Some scars looked new. It was obvious Haru was no stranger when it came to pain like this.

"Good. I was hoping to have more fun," Maemi mocked.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Haru said as he did the seals. "EIHEI NO JUTSU!" he yelled.

Maemi backed away from Haru. Eihei no jutsu was an incredibly strong jutsu. It basically drains you of chakra and stamina, and creates a drone with your strength but five times as strong as you are. If Maemi could destroy the drone, Haru would be defenseless. Or if Maemi could reach Haru, he could knock him out, canceling the jutsu before having to deal with the drone too much. Maemi decided to try to do the second plan. Haru was strong enough, the drone is only stronger.

The drone stood in front of Haru, who was know kneeling on the ground panting. It was mainly just a typical sci-fi robot. Human shaped; two arms, two legs, one head, etc. It's circular eyes were a deep red and Maemi knew they were studying him. Suddenly the drone raised it arm, its hand limp. A gun raised from it's arm.

"Shit…" he muttered. A spear grew from the gun's barrel. Maemi ran towards the drone as it fired. He jumped over it and kicked the drone in it's head. Siring pain ran from his foot up his leg. The kick didn't seem to phase the drone one bit.

As Maemi pushed off the drone it grabbed his leg and held him high up. Maemi dangled helplessly. The drone began to spin and threw Maemi into a wall. Maemi yelled in pain as he hit the wall with a loud crash. When he opened his eyes he was laying in the low levels of the stands. He quickly jumped back in the ring before the drone attacked him, putting the viewers lives in danger.

Dumb ass. The drones made of metal. I could of just used the Tetsu Souran jutsu to destroy it Maemi thought. He quickly did the hand seals, focusing his chakra on his hands. "TETSU SOURAN NO JUTSU!" he yelled.

The familiar faint glow of chakra surrounded his hands. He held out his open palmed hand towards the drone as it charged him. In one quick move Maemi closed his fist. The drone didn't crush as quickly as his hand closed but it was quickly reduced to no threat. Maemi threw the remains of the drone aside and walked over to Haru who lying on the ground. He had already passed out. The Eihei jutsu was a self thinking jutsu, until it was destroyed it thought for itself under it's creators wishes.

Maemi looked towards Michiko. Jiro was already helping her in the fight. Kido must really be strong to be taking the two of them on and not show any sign of slowing down. Maemi then ran towards them, ready to help them in any way he could.


	16. Chapter 16

_Sorry it took so long for me to update. I got preocupied with other things... not to mention writters block. BUT NOT TO WOORY! It has passed with the completion of ch. 19 which is also up. Hope you like them._

Chapter 16: Jiro-Kun vs. Haruko-Kun

As Jiro ran towards Haruko, he smiled. He had heard stories from his team's accomplishments. Haruko was what legends were made of. Jiro was going to have fun with this battle.

Haruko was dressed like Haru. Red closed with the black clan symbol on the middle of his shirt. He had red face paint on the right side of his face, pointing inward at his eyes and outward at his mouth. The opposite of Haru's face paint.

Haruko leapt as Jiro got closer. Jiro watched in awe at the height of Haruko's jump. He had never seen anyone jump that high without some sort of help. _He's a moving target up there. He can't dodge anything._ Jiro thought. He dug into his Kunai pouch and pulled out five. He carefully took aim and threw each one of them at Haruko.

Each kunai hit dead on. As Haruko's body hit the ground it landed with a thump. Jiro didn't care if Haruko was dead or not. He just wanted to win. As he walked towards the limp body, he smiled. In a split second, Jiro was kicked in his side and thrown to the wall.

When Jiro got up the limp body of Haruko disappeared in a puff a smoke. Walking towards him, was the real Haruko.

"Damn clone…" He muttered. Jiro stood up, his side still hurt from the kick. He then smiled again.

"I'll rip that smile off your face," Haruko said plainly. No emotion could be detected. He was truly born to kill, no other purpose in life but to kill.

Jiro was in disbelief for a moment. He couldn't believe that he had no emotions. This fight would be harder then he had thought. With no emotions he was the perfect killing machine. Since he cares for no one he could care less if he dies or if they die. He had nothing to loss and would fight until there was nothing left of him.

Jiro braced himself. He had to be ready for anything. Haruko started walking towards Jiro. "I have no time to fight you, so I shall defeat you now with my clan's ultimate jutsu." Haruko said.

"How? You need your brother for the jutsu." Jiro said.

"I am more powerful then Haru is. I found a way to do the jutsu without him." Haruko started performing the hand seals for a jutsu. "ARION KURO-N NO JUTSU!" he yelled.

He created a clone. It was like him, yet not like him. The main difference was the face paint was opposite of his, like Haru's face paint. "Since Haru and I are twins, the iron clone jutsu can make a clone of either of us. It takes more chakra to make a clone of Haru, but it's worth it to use the ultimate jutsu."

Jiro was worried now. Now that there was two of them the ultimate jutsu could be used. He had only heard rumors of it, that it was truly a destructive power. He could feel the sweat forming on his forehead and dripping down. He's about to be in a world of trouble now.

Haruko and Haru's clone started to do the hand signs. "NYUUKAI HAKUSHUKU NO JUTSU!" they yelled. Just then, their bodies were pulled together. One body stood in it's place. It's face was covered in the red face paint. It was a bit taller then Haruko was but was definitely stronger. It's sleeves were torn from it's muscles.

It started laughing in an evil way. "How do you like me Jiro. I am Haruki, the creation of the joining of Haru and Haruko. You'll be dead soon. My Chakra and stamina is unlimited. You stand no chance against me." He started laughing again.

"I know how to beat you that doesn't end up in either of us dying." Jiro said.

"Really, and how is that?"

"I have to wake up Haruko."

"Good luck. It normally takes a few days for Haruko to wake up on his own. What makes you think you can do it in a few minutes?"

"Because unlike you, I have a brain." Jiro smiled. Waking Haruko wasn't his real plan. Haruki might have limitless power, but he is made of Haru and Haruko. Haruko was flesh and blood, Haru's clone was not. It would only be a matter of time before Haru's clone canceled and Haruki would dissolve back to Haruko. Then He would win because, like Haruki said, would take days before Haruko woke up.

Haruki put on a look of disgust and charged. _Drain his stamina. A clone has less stamina then charka._ Jiro thought as he quickly jumped over Haruki. Haruki growled in anger as he slammed his foot to stop quickly. He turned around and began doing hand signs.

"KURO RAISHUU NO JUTSU**!" **He yelled. Jiro leapt back a few feet. The dark attack is a forbidden jutsu. It required much training in the dark arts to master it.

Haruki slammed is fist into the ground. The ground around Haruki sank to form a large crater. The ground cracked in many places and all ran towards Jiro. Jiro panicked a bit, then thought it through.

The crakes stopped moving then. Jiro's plan was foiled before he could execute it. Dark energy shot from the crakes. Hands started to rise from the crakes. Demons pulled themselves from the crakes.

Jiro gulped in fright. He didn't know the full extent of this jutsu. Seven demons were stood between Jiro and Haruki. All seven were probably under Haruki's control. Haruki laughed in his evil way. Smoke started to rise from his body.

"NO! Not yet! This is too soon!" He stammered as he looked at the smoke. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled as the body of Haruki dissolved into Haruko. Haruko collapsed, still asleep from performing the joint jutsu.

The demons watched Haruki dissolve. Without Haruki to control them, they would do what ever they pleased.

"GO-RUDEN IKAZUCHI NO JUTSU!" someone yelled from the crowed. Lightning shot down from the clouds, striking all seven demons before they had a chance to do anything. Jiro looked at the crowd. One of the elders was standing, his hands frozen in the "inu" hand seal position. His hands went back to his sides and he nodded at Jiro.

Jiro looked at Michiko. She was having trouble with Kida. Jiro also smiled when he saw Maemi running from Haru's fire wall jutsu. _Poor Maemi…_ He thought as he ran to help Michiko.


	17. Chapter 17

_I know this is getting kinda dumb but at least I'm making it my own story and not following the Naruto manga anymore... for now anyways._

Chapter 17: Michiko-Chan vs. Kida-Chan

Michiko and Kida charged each other. Almost as if they could read each other's minds they both stopped just inches from each other and leapt back a few feet. Both of them pulled out a hidden scroll and opened it. A puff of smoke came from each scroll as the summoning jutsu activated.

Kida held a Kusari-Gama with Chain. The small, hand held Scythe in one hand, the end with the weight in the other, and about five three feet of chain connecting the two ends. She smiled in an evil kind of way. The Kusari-Gama was a deadly weapon no matter how you use it. But if it was used incorrectly, it could easily turn into a two sided sword.

Michiko held a simple pole. A bo, six feet in length from tip to tip. At least for now it was. Michiko held it in a defensive stance, ready to block any of Kida's attacks. Michiko hoped Kida would over look the bo as a threat since it appeared to be so simple, yet it held three secrets. It is nearly indestructible, able to take any kind of beating by any kind of threat; it could extend, breaking into many segments held by a chain to form a whip; and it hid at each end a four inch dagger that would quickly stick out with the right about of chakra.

Michiko and Kida glared at each other, studying one another for any weaknesses or openings. Nothing could be seen by either of them. Kida gave up and charged first. Michiko braced her bo, ready for anything. Kida clenched the weight as she released the scythe end of the Kusari-Gama. Quickly, she spun it around and flung the blade at Michiko.

Michiko raised her bo to catch the blade of the Kusari-Gama. The Kusari-Gama rested easily on the bo. "Shame I have to break your toy," Kida said as she tugged on the chain. Michiko felt the pull but nothing happened. Kida stood shocked for a moment, a look of surprise on her face. She tugged again, this time harder. Michiko could feel the difference on the two tugs, but still nothing happened.

"I see. This is no ordinary Bo. My sister taught you the jutsus to make the bo so strong. I can't wait to see what other secrets this bo is hiding," Kida said as she suddenly rushed Michiko. Kida jumped as she got closer to Michiko and grabbed the handle of the Kusari-Gama. As she landed she went to strike Michiko in the side with the blade, but moved to slow. Michiko had already turned and was inches away from hitting Kida. With a loud crack the bo slammed with Kida's side and pushed her into the ground.

Michiko leapt back a bit, waiting for Kida's next move. She could of easily moved closer for a few more hits, but Kida would have already planned a counter for that. Kida slowly got up, clenching her side. She laughed slightly as she looked at Michiko.

"I must applaud your intellect Michiko. In a few minutes you have devised a plan to take out each member of my team. Maemi with Haru, Jiro with Haruko, and you and me. I know Maemi will beat Haru. Maemi's quick on his feet and Haru is easily blinded. The outcome with Jiro and Haruko is harder to pin. Haruko can think things through and has skill on his side. You will surely loss our fight. Even if you can last long enough for help I'll defeat every last one of them. My sister has trained me since I was little. I know everything you know and more. I am as strong as Aneko and will defeat you and got to leaf. I will prove to my family that I too am worthy of praise. I'll show them." She yelled, holding tears back.

It was plain to see now that Kida was fighting for more then just the Chuunin title, she was fighting for respect from her family. Having an older sister must be hard for her. She probably gets a lot of attention, just not as much as she wanted or is to blinded by her jealousy to notice it. She was being guided by rage, Michiko could see that. She had to be careful.

When Kida charged Michiko this time she attacked with the weighted side of the chain. Michiko pulled her head back to dodge the weight. The chain spun around the bo, holding it tightly. Kida smiled and pulled the bo downward hard. Michiko was pulled down with it. Kida went to hit Michiko with the blade but Michiko ducked and swiped Kida's legs. Kida released her grip on the Kusari-Gama as she feel face down into the ground. Michiko caught it before it hit Kida, blade first.

Michiko released her bo from the chain's grasp. She then tossed it far behind her and held her bo again with both hands. As Kida pushed herself up with her arms Michiko quickly spun and hit Kida hard in the gut with her bo.

"C'mon. I thought you were stronger then this," Michiko taunted. Kida gasped for air. Michiko spun around again, this time she hit Kida in the side. The hit threw Kida aside, rolling away a few feet.

Kida stood up, eyes dark and cold. Her teeth bared in aggression. The rage she felt blinded her. Her family was watching her fight, seeing how weak she was. She wasn't weak. She wasn't going let Michiko get the last hit. She was going to prove to her family that she was strong like Aneko.

"Oh trust me Michiko. I have only begun to fight…" She trailed. Her movements were swift and almost unnoticeable. Soon she held a dozen shurikens in her hands. She smiled in a twisted evil sort of way.

"Lets see if my aiming is a good as ever," Kida mocked as she threw all twelve shurikens at once.

In a split second Michiko grabbed the ends of her bo and pulled to separate each segment to make the whip. She quickly knocked each of the shurikens away. When she looked up Kida was gone.

"So many toys in just one bo…" Kida said softly from behind. In one swift movement Kida shoved a kunai into Michiko's side. Michiko cried out in pain and swung the whip to hit Kida. The whip hit Michiko instead and she cried out again. Kida was moving too fast for Michiko to register now. She fell to one knee, breathing rapidly for air. She was in trouble now.

"Need some help?" a voice said from behind. Michiko weakly looked up, Jiro was standing behind her. She smiled, glad to see help had finally come. Michiko only hopped that they still stood a chance against Kida in this state. Kida only smiled evilly at Jiro and Michiko.

"Two on one, just more fun…" She said as she rushed them.


	18. Chapter 18

_Still dumb... I know and I'm sorry. _

Chapter 18: Kida's Berserker State and Maemi's Secret Reveled

Kida drew her sword as she rushed Jiro and Michiko. "AIRON TATE NO JUTSU!" Jiro yelled. A shield formed on his arm's side to block Kida.

"You're only prolonging your defeat." Kida said. Hidden by the shield, Jiro started on more hand signs.

"TATE BAKUDAN NO JUTSU!" Jiro yelled. The shield shoot away from Jiro's arm and pushed Kida away. A few seconds later the shield exploded with Kida still beside it. As the fire settled and the dust cleared, Kida still stood in one piece. She laughed again.

"I told you you were only prolonging your defeat. Nothing can save you. Nothing will save you." She said. She smiled and charged them, her sword in hand.

Jiro braced himself, he could use the iron fist jutsu to block the blade, he just needed to give Michiko time to bandage her cut. As Jiro began the seals for the iron fist jutsu, Maemi ran towards Kida, leapt, and kicked her in the side. This shocked her momentarily as she fell to the ground and rolled.

"Fun fun fun fun fun…" Kida muttered as she stood up. "All three of team Aneko against me. Did Haru and Haruko put up a good fight? Well I congratulate the two of you for beating them. I won't go down as easy at they did." She said as she charged.

Michiko had already taken her vest off and had lifted up her shirt enough to clean her cut. Maemi and Jiro stood ready for Kida. She jumped and raised her sword for a downward attack. "Bye…" She trailed as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. "CLONE!" Jiro yelled.

Michiko screamed. Maemi and Jiro quickly turned around. The blade of Kida's sword was sticking through Michiko. "NOOOOO!" Maemi yelled. Gasps and cries from the audience was heard. The elders all stood up in shock and horror. Kida leapt away from them, leaving the sword in Michiko.

"DISQUALIFICATION!" The head elder yelled. "ATTEMPTED KILL CALLS FOR A DISQUAL-"

"Shut the hell up! I don't give a shit about being a Chuunin anymore. I just want to have some fun!" Kida said. She smiled. Her eyes showed no emotions or soul for that matter. Kida laughed in her evil way.

Maemi looked in horror at Michiko. His love laid dying on the ground behind him. He pulled the sword out of Michiko. She cried a bit. Maemi knelt beside her, tears in his eyes.

"Maemi, this is no time to be acting like this. Kida's a Berserker and I can't handle her like this alone." Jiro said.

Maemi paid no attention to him. Anger started to rise in him. It was happening again. The feeling inside him returned. The same feeling that he had when he fought Funato a few months ago. The Bijyuu inside him was taking over. The dog was in control.

Maemi stood up and glared coldly at Kida. His hair was ruffled and in his face a bit. His became more aware of the different scents in the area. He could here every whisper, every sigh, every heartbeat in the arena. His teeth became sharper; his canines grew a bit longer. His fingernails grew a bit longer into a point. He smiled in the same way Kida did.

"You'll pay for this," Maemi said. He then turned to face Jiro. Jiro backed away a bit, remembering the way he was back at leaf when this happened. "Jiro, take Michiko out of here and to the medic ninjas. They can still save her," Maemi said. Jiro nodded and lifted Michiko up, leading her out.

"Impressive Jinchuuriki, very impressive. I had no idea you too held a secret from the village. Let's see how a Jinchuuriki holds up against a Berserker," Kida said as she charged.

Maemi caught Kida's punch. She spun to get out of his hold and went to kick him. He caught the kick too. He then pulled her towards him and kneed her right in the gut. She gasped out for air. Maemi then threw her to the ground. Kida stood slowly, smiling.

"So you still have reason. The Bijyuu hasn't taken full control of you then. That's probably why you haven't tried to destroy the village," Kida said. "This should defiantly be fun.

Kida charged him again. As she did she preformed hand seals. "KARADA KEN NO JUTSU, UDE!" She yelled. She then held out her arm. From her elbow to her arm became more aerodynamic and sharper. Her arm was becoming a sword.

Maemi's gaze didn't alter. He was trying to keep in anger intact before the Gobi took over him completely. Kida slashed her arm sword and Maemi's side. He caught her arm and pulled it up.

"My your fast," Kida said. Maemi smiled in a dark way.

"Snappy snappy…" Maemi said softly. In the blink of an eye one of his hand slide down Kida's arm a bit and Maemi pressed with both hands. In a loud, deafening snap; Kida's arm was broken.

Kida winced slightly and backed away, holding her arm. "You… Bastard…" She cursed. Tears started to fill her eyes. Pain was filling her and the rage being subdued. In a few seconds her Berserker was asleep again and the 'normal' Kida was back.

She yelled in pain and medic ninjas ran to her to tend to her arm. The rage in Maemi was quickly subdued, returning him to normal as well. He walked to the exit that Jiro had went too. Jiro was sitting by a door. Maemi sat next to him. Nothing was said between them.

"They know now?" Jiro asked.

"Yep," Maemi answered plainly.

"So the cat's out of the bag then."

"More like dog in my case." Jiro and Maemi smiled a bit at the remark.

"I wonder if we'll still be able to go to the Chuunin exams since everyone knows you're a Jinchuuriki. They are feared in most villages." Jiro said softly.

"I hope so…" Maemi trailed softly. They didn't talk anymore. Aneko came and sat with them. She had nothing to say either.

For what seemed like hours had passed before the door to Michiko's room opened. A medic ninja walked out. The three of them looked up, hoping to hear good news.

"The injury was serious. If you had waited any longer she would have died. She's going to make it but she's got to take it easy for a couple weeks," The medic ninja said.

"Will she be still be able to participate in the Chuunin exams?" Jiro asked.

"Yes she will, but she'll still need to rest as much as she can and still take it easy during the exams." There was a sigh of relief from everyone.

"Can we see her now?" Maemi asked.

"Of coarse. She's resting now but should be waking in an hour or two."

Maemi, Jiro, and Aneko walk in and took a seat by Michiko's bed. She looked so calm and peaceful asleep there. He took her hand and held it close, hoping she would wake up soon.

A knock came at the door. The three of them were shocked that someone would know the room they were in. Aneko went to open the door, suspecting it was Michiko's parents. When the door swung open two elders stood at the door, the high elder behind them.

"Elders… to what do we owe such an honor," Aneko said as she bowed her head slightly.

"We need to speak with Maemi in privet. Maemi, if you would be so kind as to follow us," one of the elders said. Maemi stood up and followed them out of the room. The elders led Maemi to a privet room, away from prying ears.

"Maemi. Why didn't you tell us you're a Jinchuuriki? Why didn't your family tell us. That kind of information could have given us a warning about what you could do. We could have set up special drills in case you lost control of the Gobi. It could have been chaos at the tournament if you had lost control of the Gobi. We believed the Gobi would have died along with Funato. How was it passed to you? Please Maemi, tell us." The High Elder asked.

There was a sigh from Maemi, then he spoke. "My family didn't tell anyone because we believed it would bring dishonor to the clan again. I have the Gobi because the Gobi was split between my father and Funato. Funato had the ability to use the Gobi's powers, but he could not pass it down to his children. My father didn't have the Gobi's powers, but he could pass it down to me, which he did. You saw at the tournament that I have control over the Gobi. So can my team still go to the Chuunin exams?"

----------

Maemi walked back to Michiko's room. He was in a hurry to see if she was awake yet or not. He opened the door slightly to see all of them looking at him. Michiko smiled weakly when she saw Maemi. Maemi quickly went to her side and hugged her. Michiko smiled more widely, happy to be in his arms again, to feel safe again.

"So what did the elders want to know?" Jiro asked.

"They wanted to know how I got the Bijyuu," Maemi answered.

"And more importantly are we still going to the Chuunin exams?" Maemi laughed slightly.

"Yes Jiro. We're still going to the exams."


	19. Chapter 19

_Alright. This gets a bit better. There in Leaf a bit before the exam starts. I'm introducing three new characters towards the end. One is soooooo cool._

Chapter 19: Konoha

There was about a week for Maemi, Jiro, Michiko, and Aneko to get their things together and ready to go to the leaf village. Maemi was happy to be returning to Leaf and seeing the Hokage again. Michiko and Aneko were hoping to find some new ninja equipment that they couldn't get at steel. Jiro just wanted to show off his skills again.

Aneko and Michiko sat in the shade of the north gate. They chatted as they waited for Maemi and Jiro to show up. "Aneko, what's going to happen in the chuunin exams?" Michiko asked.

"I dunno what leaf dose. Each main village has their own way of doing the Chuunin exam. I passed in Sand. I don't even remember much of what we had to do in that exam." Aneko explained.

"But you must of meet someone who became a chuunin at leaf." Michiko asked again.

"This is the first time Leaf's had a chuunin exam since the lord Hokage first attempt. It was also the time when Orochimaru destroyed a good portion of the village. Leaf has been wary on having the Chuunin exam there for fear of Orochimaru attacking them again. Now that he is dead and Naruto-Sama is Hokage, we no longer fear that."

Maemi had joined them now. He was packed and ready to go.

"What about Sasuke-kun? Wasn't he just as bad as Orochimaru?" Maemi asked.

"Yes, perhaps worse at some times. But Naruto-Sama killed Sasuke-kun as well. We no longer have to fear Sound anymore." Aneko finished.

"That's a shame. I remember reading that Sasuke-kun and Naruto-Sama were friends slash rivals until Orochimaru recruited Sasuke. I'm sure Sasuke-kun would have been a very powerful ally if never turned evil." Maemi said.

"Anyone know when Jiro's coming? We need to get to the Leaf village." Aneko asked.

"I'm right here." Jiro said walking up with his bag packed and ready.

"Great! Let's go then!" Maemi said eagerly as he started walking.

----------

In about two days, Team Aneko reached the hidden leaf. Maemi was excited, seeing all the ninjas from other villages. There was a lot of Leaf and Sand Genin, there was also a few from other villages like Rain, Grass, and Whirlpool. Maemi was more concerned with finding the ninjas from Earth.

Maemi took off without the group. "Maemi wait. You need a pass so you don't get into trouble with the Jounins!" Aneko called. Maemi stopped.

"What?" Maemi said.

"Genins from other villages need special passes that say they're here for the Chuunin exams. Otherwise you can get into trouble. Once you get the pass, you can venture off for awhile to see the other ninjas." Aneko explained.

Reluctantly, Maemi went with his group to get the passes. They went to the elders building to get registered. It took a few hours to get the passes but when they did Maemi took off running.

"Met back here in two hours! I'll finish up here!" Aneko called out to Maemi.

Outside Maemi watched the other Genins. A good half of them were from Leaf and a quarter were from Sand. Maemi knew a bit about their skills because of their alliances with Steel. Maemi was more concerned with Rain, Grass, Whirlpool, and the new village Earth.

As Maemi walked down the paths, the other ninjas watched him. They studied him as he studied them. Rain wore these mask type things over their mouths. He assumed they were for swimming under water. Grass seemed peaceful, yet powerful. Whirlpool seemed agitated, quick to anger and act irrationally. But Earth remained hidden. As he turned a corner, Maemi was confronted with a ninja team he wasn't expecting; Mist.

The one standing in front was a girl. She seemed older then Maemi, but not by much. She seemed very mellow. She wore a headband with cat ears on them. She held closely in her arms a black cat. She even seemed to have whiskers on her checks.

The two behind her were boys. One was definitely a clash. He seemed to be a pirate ninja. He wore his forehead protector as a bandana and carried a thick, curved sword at his side. He had a jacked on and a sash going from his left shoulder to his belt. On the sash were kunais. The only thing missing was a parrot on his shoulder.

The third member of the team seemed normal… well as normal as a Mist ninja could be. He wore his forehead protector around his forehead and had a pouch on his side for shurikens and a pouch on his leg for kunais. Nothing to special could be seen about this ninja, but Maemi knew that wouldn't last long.

"Well well well, if it isn't a little Steel Nin. You village must be sacrificing a months worth of meals for you to get here." The pirate ninja said.

"At least my village has money. You three probably had to mug your way here," Maemi said.

"Witty comeback." The pirate ninja said.

Michiko had been looking for Maemi, and had found him. She was shocked to find mist ninjas. Aneko had not mentioned Mist Ninjas when she said the villages that would be participating in the Chuunin exams.

"What's this? The pitiful Steel nin needs his bitch to back him up." The pirate ninja said.

Anger filled Maemi. Disrespecting him was one thing, but disrespecting his friends, his girlfriend in this case, was far more worse. He was close to unleasing the Gobi, but was able to keep his cool.

"That's enough Senri," The girl spoke. Her tone was calm, yet forceful. It was obvious she was in charge of the group.

After a moment of awkward silence, Senri spoke, "…Fine."

"Come along Akira, Senri. We're going." The girl said as she turned around and left.

"Yes Miss Neko," Akira said as he and Senri followed.

"Wait. Why are you here? My Sensei didn't speak of Mist Ninjas attending the exam," Michiko said. Neko turned around.

"We were allowed to attend the exam at the last moment. Leaf isn't as good of friends with Mist as they are with Sand. They had thoughts that we might try to sabotage them," Neko said, then turned and left. Maemi and Michiko watched at the three Mist Nins disappeared into the shadows.

"We gotta tell Sensei," Michiko said.

"You go. I still wana find the Earth Nins." Maemi said.

"You can't. You've already been wandering around for over two hours. Sensei is already upset with you." Maemi sighed. Then followed Michiko.

----------

After informing Aneko Sensei with the news of the Mist Ninjas, she looked slightly worried. She knew that there had been some troublesome ninjas emerge from Mist including Kisame.

"We just have to watch ourselves. Especially with this Neko girl. She might seem quiet, but something tells me she's hiding something." Aneko explained, "Now lets get up to our room so we can have some dinner!"

----------

_A PIRATE NINJA! I just had to do it. > I love pirates and ninjas so I combinded the make SENRI! THE PIRATE NINJA! Just wait till you see what he can do. It's so stupid it's funny._


	20. Chapter 20

_Long chapter. Sets up a rivelry for the rest of the story... that is if you hadn't relised it already._

Chapter 20: The First Exam

The exams started the next day. We knew nothing of them. There was a welcome party by the Hokage after the welcome feast. There were rumors going around that even the Kazekage was going to be here for the feast and maybe even through all three exams. Maemi thought it would defiantly be a treat to see Gaara-Sama as well.

As the time got closer for the feast Maemi and everyone began to get ready. Jiro and Maemi were kicked out of the room for a while as Michiko and Aneko got ready. When they were ready Jiro and Maemi went in.

The feast was a formal welcome. A show of peace between the villages and the participants were intended to be well dressed. Michiko and Aneko were in formal kimonos. Michiko's was a light pink with cherry blossom flowers sewed on. Aneko's was an olive green with light green clouds designs.

Maemi's and Jiro's men kimonos I forget what their called… were laid out nicely on their beds. Jiro's was black with white tigers designs on it. Maemi's was a dark blue with gold and silver dragon designs on it. They dressed quickly since they were already left. They changed their shoes into the traditional sandals and went out to the balcony with the girls.

"My don't you two look handsome," Aneko said.

"And for the two of you, that's not very easy to do," Michiko joked.

The four of them walked to the town hall were the ballroom had been converted into a large, beautiful dinning room. Their, team Aneko went to their assigned table and sat down. It was another half hour before everyone was seated and waiting for the Hokage.

Everyone stood in unison as two people in kage clothes walked up to the stage. One was defiantly Naruto-Sama, the other must be Gaara-Sama. They both took off their hats. Naruto's blond hair could be seen vibrantly and so could Garaa's reddish-brown hair.

Naruto-Sama walked up to the mike first. "It has been years since the Chuunin exams have been held here in the Leaf village, too long if you ask me. Enjoy this last minute of peace between the villages, for tomorrow that peace may no longer be here. For tomorrow starts the exams. I took my first exam here in Leaf and it was no walk in the park. Take every step carefully and you just might make it out alive. With that I wish you all good luck!" Naruto-Sama finished.

Garaa-Sama walked up next. "Very good words Naruto but he's only kidding. A good quarter of you should live." Garaa laughed slightly, enjoying this moment of messing with the Genin's minds. "But seriously, good luck to you all tomorrow."

As the two Kages walked off the stage and too their seats, everyone sat down. Waiters came and handed us our menus as the feast began.

----------

Maemi slept well that night. A full belly put him right to sleep. He woke up bright and early the next day. Ready for the exams. He was excited, ready, and annoyed that the rest of his team was still asleep. He went outside and watched the village from the balcony. After awhile, Michiko opened the door. Still in her nightgown she rubbed her eyes lazily.

"Locked yourself out?" She asked.

"… yes…" Maemi said bluntly. Michiko smiled and let him back inside. Jiro and Aneko were just waking up as well. They got ready for their exam and went to the assigned Academy were the test was being held.

There were a lot of Genin attending this Chuunin exam and they had to be split into two classrooms. As they were being divided into their classroom, Maemi finally got a glimpse of one of the Earth Ninjas. He was muscular, but not bulky. One his left hand was a very large Gauntlet that seemed to be made of clay, yet moved with his hand with ease. Their village symbol was hard for him to explain. It was two, slanted rectangles, one higher then the other. A line went from the side of the rectangle were it faced the other rectangle and went across the length of the rectangle, then went up slightly. To Maemi, this was a very odd and confusing symbol.

He had caught the glimpse of the Earth ninja as he and his team were being moved to one classroom, Maemi and his team were moved to the other. He sighed slightly, not being able to study the Earth ninjas a bit more. When he and his team walked into their classroom he sucked in a silent gasp as he saw the Mist ninjas off in a corner. _No Earth but still got the Mist. Oh well._

Once everyone was in we took our seats by our teammates. We waited a few minutes for our instructor to come in. The doors suddenly opened and everyone looked towards the back of the room. Kiba-San walked down the stairs to the front of the class room.

"Good morning. I see you're all sitting with your squads… if you would all be so kind as to stand and find a new seat, AWAY from your squads," He stated, stressing the word 'away.' Reluctantly; Maemi, Michiko, and Jiro stood with the rest of the room and moved to new seats. Maemi could feel someone sit next to him, but didn't bother to look, he was more concerned with where Michiko and Jiro were.

"Hello little steel nin," a familiar voice said. Maemi's head jerked to the genin beside him to see it was Neko. Maemi didn't know what it was. But something was different in the air. There was something about Neko that he couldn't tell before. Something about her presence that was aggravating him. Maemi had to suppress the Gobi from emerging in the classroom. All because of Neko. Something about Neko that Maemi didn't know. He then noticed her eyes. One eye was dark, nearly black in color. The other eye was very light.

"You're a merger of two clans. Two powerful and noble clans." Maemi said. Neko looked upset, as if Maemi saying this resurfaced unwanted memories.

"That I am steel nin. That's all you'll know too," Neko said, returning to her calm, neutral state.

"Good. Now then," Kiba-san started, "You will all be given an exam with ten questions on it. You have one hour to completed it and must not cheat. If I or one of the other Jounin with me catches you cheating three times, you and your team are disqualified. The test begins as soon as you receive the exam."

The two other Jounin walked up the steps, passing out the tests. Maemi was still finding it hard to concentrate on anything. When he got the test his eyes widened. How the hell was he going to answer these. These questions were all above his level of knowledge. When Maemi got down to the last question he was curious.

'Question 10 will be given with ten minutes remaining.' was all it said. Maemi went back up to question one. He read it a couple times. The only thing he could do was B.S. his way through.

Minutes felt like hours and days. One by one teams were being picked off. Jiro was even caught once trying to cheat. It felt like an eternity when fifty minutes were up and the tenth question was given by Kiba.

"Well now. Fifty minutes in and already almost half of you are gone thanks to cheating. Now then. For the tenth question there are a new set of rules. You can chose to take it or not. If you chose to not take the question, you fail as well as your team. IF you do take the tenth question and answer it incorrectly… well lets just say I hope you enjoy being a Genin since you'll never be allowed at a Chuunin exam again. Remember, if you choice to not take the last question you can take the exam again next year. Chose wisely young genin." Kiba-san explained.

It was an eerie silence in the room. A pin drop could be heard with ease. One hand rose, then another, and a third. A total of six teams were giving up. Maemi thought of giving up, but knew Michiko and Jiro would kill him if he did.

"Is that all? The rest of you feel confident enough to receive the last question?" Kiba-san asked. No one moved. No sign of acknowledgement or anything. "Very well then. You all pass."

There was a gasp from the genin. _We all pass? But what about question 10?_ Maemi thought. One of the leaf ninjas raised his hand.

"Kiba-san, why did we all pass? I thought you said Question ten would be really hard." He asked.

"There was no tenth question. As the Jounin who gave me my first Chuunin exam 'You could say that those two choices were the tenth question.'" Kiba-san said with a smile.

"So then what was the purpose of the other nine? Were they pointless?" A sand ninja asked.

"Of coarse they weren't pointless. It was to test your ability of information gathering. The test questions were purposely above your skill level. The questions encouraged you to cheat. We even had a couple Chuunin mixed into the classroom to help you guys out. If you were sloppy at cheating, you failed and would have to train some more. Now then. The other classroom should be done by now, lets get out of here and on to the second exam."

Maemi waited at the door for Michiko and Jiro. He felt a lot more calmer now that he was away from Neko. As they went outside Aneko was waiting for them. She seemed nervous. When she saw them walk out of the academy she rushed towards them.

"I found out something about Neko," Aneko said.

"I know. She's the daughter of two noble clans from mist. She had the whole two colored eye thing going on." Maemi said.

"There's more too it. She's also a Jinchuuriki. She has the Shibi sealed inside her. The four tailed cat demon."

----------

_For those of you that didn't see it coming, here's the biggest hint I had. Neko is Japanese for cat. Cats and dogs don't like each other. Maemi has the dog demon in him, Neko has the cat demon in her. TA-DA!_


	21. Chapter 21

_Very short Chapter. It's Bassically going to get Neko's origon out of the way. It was going to be an "intermission chapter" as in you didn't have to read it if you didn't, but I changed my mind and merged it with the story. Just giving information on a new, and will be major, character._

Chapter 21: Neko's Past

"What do you mean she's has the Shibi. Wait. This would explain why I was unsettled during the exam. I had to sit beside her and it was hard for me to concentrate. She has the cat demon in her; I have the dog demon in me. Dogs and cats are mortal enemies. The Gobi must've sensed the Shibi in her and went berserk." Maemi said.

"That must be." Aneko said.

"But how? How did this happen? I didn't even know the Shibi was alive. There were rumors that it was killed off five centuries ago." Michiko said.

"Yes. Well I've done my research and this is what I've found," Aneko started.

"Kumori Kiko, also known as Neko. She is the daughter of Kumori Takashi and Ranpu Azusa. The daughter of the Clan of Shadow and the Clan of Light, two rivaling clans from Mist. Her parents feel in love despite their clans disapproval. They were secretly married and hid their love from the village. But soon that love could not be hidden for long, Azusa was pregnant with Kiko. But another thing was a secret that not even the Ranpu clan knew, Azusa carried the dormant Bijyuu and it was feeling less tired.

"Kiko went four years without anyone knowing she carried the Bijyuu. She grew up in her mothers care, not knowing whom her father was. Knowing nothing of her father's life. But when she was five the Kumori clan attacked the Ranpu clan. Kiko's grandfather was killed in the raid. The fear she felt and the anger for her grandfather's death woke the sleeping Shibi, and killed the majority of the invading Kumori clan. Kiko was ignored. Azusa was ignored. They were abnormals because of the Bijyuu inside Kiko.

"The Kumori clan now know about Kiko's secret. They knew that Takashi could win her over. They had the plan to destroy Ranpu for good, they just needed their weapon. When Kiko was reunited with her long lost father she learned more about her fathers side of the family. Learned his side of the rivalry between Kumori and Ranpu. Learned why she should be at her fathers side. Takashi did what he was told to do and did it well. Soon Kiko was at the right side of her father, not her mother. Her mother was heart broken and Ranpu feared for their lives. Kumori now had a powerful weapon in their grasp and it was only a matter of time till they used her.

"When Kiko was six she was used. It's unknown what the Kumori clan did to unleash the Shibi that day, but it served it's purpose. Ranpu was destroyed. Not a single man, woman, or child was spared excluding Kiko. But the Shibi wasn't satisfied with just Ranpu. It started attacking other noble clans. Takashi sacrificed his life to stop his daughter's rampage. Kiko had returned to passed out from lack of energy. She woke up three days later in the hospital. Her Kumori grandfather waiting for him.

"Kiko had no knowledge of the attack she did. She didn't even know she carried the Shibi inside her, and Kumori planned to keep it that way. Takashi did his part, now his father needed to do his part. Kiko was told a false truth. She was knocked out during a raid the Ranpu did. Her father died defending the Kumori stronghold. When the Kumori clan retaliated against the Ranpu, they killed them off. When it came to explaining the damage of the other nobles he said they were the results of rouge jutsus during the raid.

"Kiko believed it. Her spirit retired into her body. She seemed to have no soul. She ceased to care about the outside world. She turned to her girlhood obsession of cats. Even took the name Neko in place of her old. Doesn't even answer to Kiko anymore. Though she still lives in the Kumori home and carry the Kumori name, she still believes herself the only living member of the Ranpu clan. And that when she dies, so dose Ranpu."

Maemi, Michiko, and Jiro stood bewildered. They couldn't believe the story Aneko had just said. So much research in a little over an hour. Maemi didn't bother asking how she got it so fast. He didn't question the story. This information on Neko would come in handy when and if they incounter her wrath during the exam.

"HURRY UP YOU THREE! WE NEED TO GET TO THE SECOND EXAM AREA!" Kiba-san yelled. Maemi, Michiko, and Jiro bowed respectively to Aneko for the information and hurried to the rest of the group. Hurried to the second exam.


	22. Chapter 22

_Shows a bit about the Earth Ninjas towards the end. Also pretty violent towards the end. Hope you like it._

Chapter 22: The Second Exam

Kiba-san led the genin to a fenced off area. Signs hung on the fence that said "DANGER, DO NOT ENTER" or "DANGEROUS CREATURES LIE INSIDE." Maemi gulped nervously. He had a feeling the signs weren't their for intimidation purposes.

"Hey Ino. Here's my half of the Genin." Kiba said.

"It's about time. I not many are here. You did a good job on your intimidation. I just hope Choji didn't go soft on them," Ino-Chan said and sighed.

Choji came with his group. There were more then Kiba's half, but not by much.

"Congratulations Choji, you were actually intimidating." Ino said.

"Thanks Ino," Choji said with a smile. Maemi noticed the Earth Ninjas were still there. The bulk of Choji's group was Leaf and Sand, but the whirlpool team passed as well.

"Right. Now on with the second exam. You Genin will be put into the Forest of Death for three days. The object of this exam is to get both the Earth Scroll and the Heaven Scroll, take it to the tower in the center of the forest, open it, and do what it says next. Each team is given one of these scrolls. You have to track down other teams with the other scroll and take it from them. And one more thing; killing is permitted in this exam. If you would follow me one team at a time, I'll give you your scroll and assign you a gate to wait at. At three o'clock the gates will open and the exam will begin. I wish you all the best of luck and don't all die on me." Ino finished and walked towards a tent.

One by one the teams went to the tent to get their scroll. Maemi watched the Earth ninjas get theirs. He thought it would be funny for the Earth ninjas to get the Earth scroll. Ino probably thought it would be funny too. Soon it was his teams turn. They walked into the tent and got their scroll, the Heaven Scroll. Gate 13. Michiko took the scroll and hid it in one of her pockets and then they went to their gate.

"Shesh… Gate Thirteen. I hope that's not like an Ill omen or something," Maemi said.

"I don't believe in that stuff. It's meant to scare little kids, nothing else," Jiro said.

"I don't care if it means good luck or bad. We make our own destinies now," Michiko said. When they reach gate thirteen the sat down and waited. Waited for the gates to open and for them to begin.

It felt like hours before the gate opened a tad. Maemi jumped up first, then Michiko and Jiro. The gate swung open and they ran in. The exam had began. Death awaited some of them now.

Their bolt of excitement into the forest quickly subsided with awareness and fear. Noises of wild animals could be heard, some you could tell were unfriendly. Maemi's sense of smell seemed to get better. It seemed like the dog demon in him was giving him some talents. He's already seemed to be more agile and faster on his feet. Now his sense of smell has increased.

"I'll lead," Maemi said, "Jiro, take the back. Michiko stay in the center. Since Michiko's got the scroll she needs to be protected at all cost." Michiko and Jiro nodded their understanding.

Maemi, Michiko, and Jiro were all on edge. Before they had the protection of Aneko-Sensei, now they were on their own. They had already promised to only kill if absolutely necessary. Killing on a mission is one thing, but this is an exam and klilling should be avoided. At least that was their view on it.

Maemi's nose was on overdrive. So many unusual scents filled his nose. Including a scent he found addictive, fear. He raised his head suddenly. A scent had shocked him. Michiko jumped by his sudden jerk.

"What the hell?" She said, a bit agitated.

"Blood. I smell blood. It's strong too. Who ever is bleeding is close. Less then fifty feet, maybe even closer," Maemi said.

"Let's check it out. We need to see our competition in action. To study them incase we must fight them latter in the exam," Jiro said.

"Alright. But we need to be careful," Maemi said as he started leading them towards the smell. Soon the sounds of fighting could be heard. They stopped and moved carefully. Through the leaves they could see a team of leaf ninjas against the Earth team. One of the leaf ninjas laid motionless in a pool of his own blood. The stench of death filled Maemi's nose. He had to hold back the urge to throw up.

----------

"Give us the Heaven Scroll!" one of the Earth ninjas yelled as he did a round house kick.

"NEVER!" The defending leaf ninja said as he caught the kick. The ninja with the clay gauntlet ran behind the leaf ninja. He clenched his clay fist and in a flash it seemed to harden. The ninja punched the leaf ninja square in the back. A loud snap was heard as his spine snapped in two. The ninja collapsed on the ground as a lifeless corpse.

The last leaf ninja cowered in a fetal position, crying softly. She seemed younger then her two teammates that were killed, like she had just become a Genin not to long ago.

"Give us the Heaven scroll, now." The earth ninja said, his hand outstretched. The leaf girl fumbled with her hands as she handed him the scroll.

"Please leave me now. You have the scroll." She said softly. The head Earth ninja smiled.

"I don't think we can do that."

"W-why? You have the scroll. You don't need me anymore!" She stammered.

"But you belong to leaf. And we have specific orders to kill every leaf ninja we find."

"Please! Please don't kill me." She begged as she bowed on all fours.

"Sasuke-sama wouldn't like it if we spared you." He jerked his head towards her. The ninja with the clay gauntlet stared at his clay fist for a moment. The gauntlet morphed into a blade. The ninja smiled and stabbed her with it. She cried out in pain. She sat up quickly when he removed the blade. She crawled back as fast as she could. The ninja just followed.

"Die leaf," He muttered softly as he swung his blade horizontally, removing her head. The limp body fell backwards.

"Well that was mildly entertaining," The head ninja said.

"Lets just get to the tower. I'm bored with this 'Forest of Death' bull shit." The clay fist ninja said.

"Yeah. We need more challenging victims. The less ninjas there are, the less trouble Sasuke-sama will have getting to Naruto." The third ninja said.

The first ninja started running then jumped up and dove into the ground. The other two ninjas followed.

----------

Maemi turned around to see how Jiro and Michiko were taking it. Jiro's face was pale, but he couldn't see Michiko. Maemi feared Michiko had been kidnapped for the heaven scrolled when they were watching the Earth nins. He walked a few steps but couldn't hold back the feeling anymore and threw up. He found Michiko a bit farther back. She was in a fetal position on her side, crying to herself.

"It's… it's alright. They're done now. They've left," Maemi said softly. Michiko wouldn't move. She didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence. Maemi lifted her up into his arms. The sudden movement must of snapped her back into reality because she started crying heaver and clung onto Maemi.

"Shhh… it's aright. I'll protect you. No one's going to hurt you. I'll be sure of it." Maemi said softly as he walked her back to Jiro. Jiro was already in the battle field.

"Jiro. Come back here. We need to plan our next move," Maemi said. Jiro turned around and came back.

"First. You heard him too Jiro. I don't think Michiko heard though. We now know that Sasuke's still alive, he's more then likely hear at the Chuunin exams, and he wants to kill Naruto."


	23. Chapter 23

_Sorry it took so long to get it. I had lost my USB that had this chapter on it. It's Neko's team's POV during the Second Exam. Hope you like it._

Chapter 23: Getting the Earth Scroll

The gates opened and they didn't seem to care. Neko lazily stood first. Senri and Akira stood next. They walked into the Forest of Death as if it meant nothing to them. Neko walked up front. She held her kitten close in her arms. To Neko, her life was meaningless compared to her kitten's. They came arouse some sand ninjas blocking their path. One seemed to be Garaa's son due to the reddish brown hair and the gourd strapped to his back.

"Do you have the Heaven scroll or the Earth?" Garaa's son asked.

"Get out of the way," Neko said calmly.

"I'm sorry but we won't do that. Especially if you have the Heaven Scroll." Garaa's son said again.

"You mean this?" Senri said, holding the heaven scroll to them. Garaa's son's team's eyes widen. The scroll they needed.

"There's no way your passing now." One of the other sand ninjas said as he charged. Akira spun on one foot, using the other to slam the ninja into the tree, snapping it like a twig. The remaining two sand ninja stared in disbelieve at their unconscious friend.

"H-How did you do that. No Genin is that strong." The sand ninja said.

"Doing this was a trademark of the leaf's fifth Hokage. Her father had a brother they never spoke off. Her uncle was exiled from Leaf for unjust acts and went to mist. He had the knowledge of increasing one's strength ten fold. My grandfather taught me well," Akira said with a smile.

Garra's son fumbled with the scroll as he went to hand it too them. "Please, just don't kill us." He said. Senri went to take it from them.

"No Senri. Taking the scroll from such pitiful opponents is a disgrace. We should find the little steel nins. See if they have the Earth scroll and if not we could always use a little sparing completion," Neko said and started walking past the two sand ninjas.

Senri and Akira followed, not wanting to anger Neko. Neko suddenly held her nose. She could suddenly smell the stench of dog and for some reason it seemed familiar to that steel ninja Maemi. She followed it. Moving faster as the scent got stronger. She could feel a power surging through her veins but knew not of their source. She could feel her Chakra growing. Both strange yet familiar to her.

An ear splitting howl filled the forest. The dog she smelt was that of a wolf, not of Maemi. More howls filled the air. It was a pack. Snarling sounds could be heard in the forest surrounding them. Wolves started walking into view, but they were much larger then normal wolves. They seemed to be around their shoulder height, a good four feet tall. Akira shivered into the center of the group.

"What's the matter Akira?" Neko asked in her monotonous voice.

"I don't like dogs. Don't like them at all. Wolves are even worse. These wolves are… I don't even want to think about it," Akira said.

"Baby," Senri said as he started performing the seals. "MIZU KYANONBO-RU NO JUTSU MULTI ATTACK!" Senri yelled. Large spheres made out of water started forming around him. There were one for each wolf. He crossed his arms by his head as more spheres formed. When he finally swiped his arms downward, the spheres shot towards wolves.

The wolves yelped as they ran off. "You couldn't resist one of your cannon ball jutsus, could you," Neko said.

"Let's just go," Akira said, "Before the wolves decide to come back." Senri nodded. A multi attack took a lot of chakra to perform. Neko paid no attention to them and started walking again. She could smell the wolves now, and remembered their scent. The first day was coming to an end soon. All they've accomplished was getting surrounded by wolves. Akira went to find a place to sleep, Senri gathered firewood, and Neko went of look out.

Once they started the fire Senri started cooking a bit of food. Night surrounded them soon.

"I'll take first Sentinel watch. Senri, I'll wake you round midnight, then you can wake Neko round three," Akira said.

"That's fine with me," Senri said.

"What ever," Neko said and laid down by the fire. Senri laid down on the other side. Nothing happened during any of their watches. The second day had started.

As Senri started cooking breakfast he realized something. "We're out of water. We'll need to find a lake and fetch some water, then sterilize it so we can drink it without getting sick," he said.

"Alright. We'll split up to find water. Met back her in –" Akira started

"This way. I can smell it." Neko stated and started walking. Akira and Senri looked at each other with worry. They knew the secret about her that she didn't know. They knew that it was only a matter of time before Neko finds the Shibi.

She led them to the pond. It was a decent sized pond as well. "I think we can also get our breakfast here," Senri said, noticing shadows of fish.

"Good," Akira said. Neko walked up to the pond's edge to get some water. The waters started to swirl as she approached. A whirlpool and formed in the water. The whirlpool started to rise above the water like a water spout. As suddenly as the whirlpool started, it stopped. The water that had been lifted up fell back to the pond. Standing on the water's surface were the three Whirlpool Ninjas.

"They got an earth scroll!" Senri said.

"I can tell by your enthusiasm that you have the Heaven. Will you hand it to us or shall we pry it from your cold, dead hands?" The lead ninja said.

"Neither," Akira said. He nodded to Senri who then started doing the hand seals, then dug his hand into the soil, yelling "NENDO KYANONBO-RU NO JUTSU!" He pulled his hand out with a sphere of hard clay. He then pushed the cannon ball of clay towards the whirlpool ninjas with his chakra.

One of the back whirlpool ninjas did his hand signs with incredible speed. "MIZU SEICHUU NO JUTSU!" he yelled and motioned his hand towards the cannon ball. A jet of water shot towards the cannon ball, dissolving it.

"You actually think that was going to work on us?" The mist ninja said.

"No. But it wasn't supposed to." Senri said with a smug smile. The whirlpool ninjas looked confused. It took them awhile before they realized Akira was gone, but it was too late by then. He had disappeared when the whirlpool ninja used the water control jutsu to dissolve the cannon ball. A loud snap could be heard, then a cry of pain. Akira had used his super strength to break one of the whirlpool ninjas arms. He then retreated into the trees.

"One down, two to go." Akira said with a smile.

Senri and Neko charged in, taking advantage of the whirlpool ninja's distraction. Senri took the one who dissolved his cannon ball, Neko took the leader.

As Senri and the whirlpool ninja fought, Senri realized he was in a loosing battle. "Guess I have to use that jutsu." He muttered.

"You can't. That uses too much Chakra. Akira help him!" Neko said as she kicked the leader to the ground. Akira motioned to jump down but Senri had already started the jutsu. Blood was trickling down from the center of his palm. Senri slammed his hand on the ground.

"OUMU SUMMNING NO JUTSU!" He yelled. A loud screech filled the air.

"SENRI YOU IDIOT!" Neko yelled. A very large parrot came crashing down. It had four limbs, two arms and two wings. It feathers were a green in collar and wore an eye patch over it's right eye. In it's scared arms it held a cane.

"Why did you call Senri? My favorite soaps are on," The boss parrot asked. Senri was on one knee now, his chakra and energy level was low. The summoning of a boss animal used a lot of chakra and energy.

"Needed… help. Ninja to strong." Senri muttered.

"Yeah yeah. You could of summoned one of my children instead. So you want him dead or just knocked out?"

"No killing."

"Should have figured. You were always the soft one in your family." The parrot tapped the ground with his cane. The entire forest shock from the tap. The parrot then hit the two ninjas with his cane, knocking them out. "Happy? I've probably missed my soaps now," The boss parrot said as he took off.

Neko hurried to the ninja who had the scroll and took it. Akira jumped down from the tree and followed them to the center of the forest, walking to their final exam.


	24. Chapter 24

_Last chapter i have done so far. Like I said in my bio thing, I'm working on my Zelda fanfic first but once this phase ends I'll probably pick back up on this. I know I'm leaving you with a cliff hanger but just tough it up and I'll update when I update._

Chapter 24: Captured

A day had passed since Maemi's team witnessed the horror of the Earth Village. Maemi was still in doubt about what he had heard. Sasuke? Alive? The information wouldn't settle in his head.

"We should get moving. We need to find that other scroll," Jiro said. Michiko nodded and stood up. Maemi didn't move for a moment. He didn't seem to even acknowledge Jiro's words. "C'mon Maemi. We need to get moving, now."

Maemi shook his head slightly, seeming to bring him back to reality. He stood slowly and walked to the others. The smells of the forest filled Maemi's nose again. The scent of blood was stronger then ever. Memories of the Earth ninja attack flooded back to Maemi's mind. He was a ninja, a trained killer, but what the Earth ninjas did was too much.

"I swear…" Maemi muttered.

"What?" Jiro asked.

"I swear by my ninja honor. I will kill those Earth ninjas. One way or another those three will die by my hands." Maemi said. His face was serious, yet filled with grief.

"Well you'll need to be stronger first. Those Earth nins look like their as strong as Sensei," Jiro said. Michiko just shook her head. She hopped that it was a hollow promise, that Maemi wasn't serious about that suicide mission.

The three steel nins walked through the forest of death. Their ears picking up acute sounds, making sure they weren't being followed. Soon, Maemi noticed a clearing. It was a small clearing but a clearing none the less.

Jiro and Michiko saw it as well. No grass grew there. The clearing was covered with sand. They could sense the trap laying there. They knew someone had to of found the clearing and set traps there.

"Someone's close by. I can smell them. How close I can't tell," Maemi said softly. Jiro and Michiko nodded. They had to go through the clearing.

"Send a clone in first to set off the traps. That way we should be able to walk through unharmed," Michiko said. Maemi nodded and produced three clones. Then two of them did the copy jutsu to look like Jiro and Michiko.

The three clones walked into the clearing. Nothing seemed to happen. No traps were set off. No shurikens or kunais fell from the trees at the clones. In a few minutes the three clones reached the other side of the clearing. The Maemi cloned waved back at the three real nins before disappearing in a puff of smoke along with the other clones.

"Guess it really is safe," Jiro said.

"Yeah. Those clones were perfect copies," Michiko said.

"Fine. But I'll go first just to be safe. I can take a hit better then you guys thanks to the Gobi." Maemi said.

_There he goes again, bragging about the stupid Bijyuu. Would still be a loser if he didn't have it. Thinks he's specials. Idiot._ Jiro thought as he followed Michiko into the sandy plain.

Everything was going fine for the ninjas. Nothing was happening to them like with the clones. Maemi was becoming less tense as they approached the other side of the clearing. Then it happened. Slow at first. But their feet started to sink into the sand. Maemi was the first to noticed.

"Hurry! It's a trap!" Maemi yelled. They hurried to the other side. The faster they moved the faster they sank. It was becoming harder and harder for the three of them to lift their legs out of the heavy sand. Maemi groaned in defeat as he was waist deep in sand, less then two feet from the end of the clearing.

Shadowy movements could be seen in the forest. Maemi could feel his muscles tense up again. He didn't know of anyone who could stage a trap like this. Maybe Garaa, but he was the Kazekage now. Three ninjas walked out. The leader carried Garaa's giant gourd on his back.

"So it's true. Garaa-sama dose have a son," Maemi said.

"That's right. The name's Yasuo. And you must be Maemi-san. Naruto-sama has spoke a lot about you. How you have the Gobi inside you. To bad you'll be like your idol and fail your first chuunin exam," Yasuo said.

"Smells like you already failed. You reek of cat. You meet up with a couple Mist ninjas? Girl and two guys, one's a pirate the other looks normal?" Maemi said with a smug smile.

"How… how did you know?" Yasuo stuttered in disbelief.

"Acute nose knows all!" Maemi said in a corny kind of way.

"We might of met up with them, but we still have our Earth scroll. And we want your heaven scroll."

"HOW DID YOU KNOW WE HAD A HEAVEN?" Maemi yelled in shook.

"They didn't moron. They just said that as a bluff. But thanks to you they now know we have the heaven scroll and since we seem to be stuck, we're pretty much S.O.L. in protecting our scroll." Jiro said.

"Sorry…" Maemi muttered, looking pitiful.

"Wait… I've been thinking this over. Yasuo, how do you have the Ichibi? I thought Garaa-sama lost it to the Akatsuki stole it," Michiko asked.

"Maemi-san, your such a Naruto buff. You should know how my father got the Ichibi back."

"It's true Michiko-chan; Garaa-sama did loss the Ichibi. He was without it for a great period of time. But shortly after Naruto-sama killed Orochimaru and took the title Hokage, he made it his mission to destroy the Akatsuki. He and Garaa-sama led a team of powerful Jounin to the Akatsuki headquarters and pretty much destroyed them. The most famous death there was probably Uchiha Itachi's. Anyways, they removed the Ichibi from the member of the Akatsuki that had it and returned it to Garaa-sama," Maemi explained.

"My, you are a Naruto buff. Now hand over the scroll. Who ever has it. I want to make it to the last exam," Yasuo said tensely with his hand out stretched.

"Kinda hard to do that when were up to our shoulders in sand," Michiko said.

"Nice try. Trying to make me free you so you can run away."

"Actually I was going to kick your ass first." Jiro and Maemi laughed slightly.

"Wait. Yasuo, I challenge you to a battle for the scroll. One on one. No killing. Lets find out who holds the stronger Bijyuu inside; you with the Ichibi, or me with the Gobi," Maemi proposed.

"This idea interests me. It'll give me the pleasure of talking down on you the next time Naruto-sama visits. I accept your challenge," Yasuo said, he then raised his hand and Maemi, Jiro, and Michiko rose from the ground. The sand that they stood on slowly started to return to Yasuo's gourd returning the clearing to its natural, green beauty.

"If any of our teammates interfere with our fight, automatic disqualification and forfeit of their scroll," Maemi said.

"Wouldn't want it any other way," Yasuo said. The four other ninjas retreated into the forest, watching the fight. Yasuo and Maemi circled each other, watching each other, studying each other, waiting to see who'd make the first move. Maemi saw his opening and charged.


	25. Chapter 25

_Yay! No more writter's block for this fan fic. But I'm am slow on my typing because I gotta lot of crap to deal with. Work, end of the year prodjects, grades, girlfriend, etc. So I'll update when I can. Until then, hope you like the chapter. Sorry again it took so long._

Chapter 25: Ichibi vs. Gobi

Maemi dashed at Yasuo. But Yasuo had expected this and quickly moved to the side. Yasuo held out his arm. The sand from his gourd surrounded his arm, then hardened to form a sharp spike.

"Whoa… Garaa-sama couldn't do that," Maemi muttered. Yasuo grinned like his father used too.

"I'm not my father. I'm much stronger then him," Yasuo said as he charged. Maemi leaped up into the trees, barely missing Yasuo's attack. He started doing hand signs for his jutsu. He knew the weakness to Yasuo's sand.

"That won't work!" Yasuo said. He ran to the tree where Maemi was. Before Maemi could finish the hand signs Yasuo cut the tree down in one swipe. Maemi quickly jumped to another before he feel to the ground. He was careful not to mess up the hand signs but upon landing, screwed it up.

"Damn," he muttered as he started over. Yasuo reared his arm back. Sand from his gourd was surrounding his arm again. As he punched forward the sand shoot forward, hardening ever inch of the way, forming a long enough spike to hit Maemi.

Maemi looked up a second late. Before he had a chance to move completely out of the way, the spike punched through his shoulder. Maemi yelled in pain. Blood dripped down on the leaves below.

"Maemi!" Michiko screamed. Yasuo laughed. The spike shortened bringing Maemi back to the ground. Yasuo removed the spike from Maemi's shoulder and held Maemi high with his other hand.

"Die already," Yasuo said as he punched through Maemi's heart. Michiko screamed as Yasuo's fist made contact with Maemi's flesh. A poof of smoke and Maemi was gone.

"What… a clone. Shit," Yasuo muttered as he looked around for the real Maemi.

"TETSU SOURAN NO JUTSU!" Maemi yelled. He focused the magnetic current around his hands.

"Die!" Yasuo yelled and punched forward, extending the spike once more. Maemi held his hand in front of him. As the spike got close to Maemi's hand it broke apard and the single grains of sand flew away.

"What? What did you do to my sand?" Yasuo yelled.

"Nothing. This jutsu lets me control magnetic currents. Iron is in sand. I just had the magnetic currents around me repel the iron. Your sand won't work on me for the next five minutes. Plenty of time for me to beat you," Maemi explained.

Maemi charged again. His fist balled and reared back. Yasuo put his sand shield in front of him. The sand repelled as Maemi got close and punched Yasuo in the face. Yasuo stumbled back a bit, shocked by the contact of the attack.

"Your sand won't work. I told you that already. Just give up. Most your attacks revolve around the sand, don't they?" Maemi said, smiling.

Yasuo smiled. He then laughed. "Your right Maemi, without my sand _I_ am defenseless," Maemi didn't like the way Yasuo stressed "I," "But Ichibi isn't."

Yasuo started doing hand signs.

"Shit," Maemi muttered. He dashed towards Yasuo but it was too late. Yasuo collapsed, fast asleep.

"Michiko-chan! Jiro-kun! Run n-" Maemi was cut off. Yasuo had grabbed him by the throat and raised him off the ground.

Yasuo wasn't the same though. His eyes had rolled into his head. He had an evil grin on his face, one like Maemi had never seen before.

"Shit. Yasuo's going to kill us all," one of the sand nins said.

"It's every nin for herself," the other sand nin said and ran off.

A few thoughts raced through Maemi's head. His jutsu was set to repel Iron. All he'd have to do is put his hand over his heart and in a few minutes he'd die. But he didn't want him to die. Just let him go. Maemi put his hand on Yasuo's chest. It took a moment for him to get close enough to Yasuo's heart for him to wince in pain. A moment later Maemi fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Once the pain left Yasuo he saw Maemi still gasping for air at his feet. He then reared his leg back and kicked Maemi in the gut. Maemi raised from the ground a foot and fell hard. He coughed and clutched his gut. Yasuo was about to kick Maemi again when he suddenly vanished.

Yasuo looked around stupidly for Maemi, wondering where he had gone too.

----------

Maemi opened his eyes. He didn't know how long he was out but he seemed to be alive. Slowly he stood up, moaning in pain. He clutched his shoulder as pain filled every nerve in his body.

"Don't move," Michiko said softly.

"How… how long have I been out?" Maemi asked.

"You've been out a few hours. Yasuo left already to catch up with the rest of his team."

"Too bad I got to them first," Jiro said, holding up an Earth scroll.

"Great. Now we just need to get out of here," Maemi said, smiling weakly.

"I guess the Ichibi is stronger then the Gobi," Jiro said.

"No. The Ichibi is just stronger then me. The next time we fight, I'll be at full strength with the Gobi," Maemi said. Maemi stood up, clutching his shoulder. "We need to get to the center now. But we gotta remember this; there's going to be a lot of traps there since the exam's almost over. We might even run into Yasuo again."

Michiko and Jiro nodded. Jiro put Maemi's arm around his shoulder to help Maemi stand and started walking to the center of the forest.

----------

'YOU LOST IT!" Yasuo yelled. He had returned to normal now, no longer possessed by the Ichibi. He punched a tree in frustration.

"W-we didn't lose it. It was taken from us," the male ninja said.

"And I suppose you fought for it to the end Hoshi?"

"He was too strong for us. Ask Ayame, she'll vouch for me. This guy was too strong for us," Hoshi pleaded.

"SO IT WAS ONLY ONE! Only one ninja took the scroll from us."

"Hoshi's right Yasuo. This guy from steel was strong," Ayame said.

"Steel? It must have been that Jiro guy. C'mon. We need to get to the tower." Yasuo said and started walking.

"But why? We don't have any scrolls. We can't get into the tower without them." Hoshi asked.

"But we can steal them from teams that already have them. Or if were lucky we can take it from teams that have extra scrolls. No let's go, now. Before the steel nins get there."


	26. Chapter 26

_Sorry I haven't been good on my updates. It isn't writters block or lack of time, it's lack of work ethic. I've just been too lazy to write. Sorry. I'm going to **try** to write more but I can't make any promises, I'm probably one of the laziest people in the world. hehe_

Chapter 26: Rematch

Before long Maemi could walk on his own. His mind had blocked out the pain from his shoulder. It had stopped bleeding and scabbed already, but it still hurt.

"Alright guys," Michiko said, "Were maybe a hundred yards from the tower. Expect traps from now on. More as we get closer."

Maemi and Jiro nodded and walked forward, followed by Michiko. A few yards in Maemi stopped. His eyes widened in shock.

"What's up?" Jiro asked.

"Cat… I smell cat… It's Neko," Maemi said.

Jiro and Michiko got ready. They froze for a moment. They knew that Neko would seek them out, even if she already had the two scrolls. It is a hatred based on the nature of they Bijyuus, a hate as old as time.

"I thought I smelt dog," a voice said. Neko walked out from the forest into the clearing were Maemi's team was. Senri and Akira stepped out after her.

"Is that blood I smell? Seems like you've gotten beaten pretty bad," Neko said, a sly smile on her face.

"All in good cause. We got what we needed," Maemi said.

"Keep this in mind Maemi. This exam is near it's end and we have no time to fight. We shall battle during the next exam. And I shall leave victorious," Neko said. She turned and walked back into the forest, Senri and Akira followed.

"Well that was strange," Jiro said.

"Yeah, but she's right. We need to hurry and get to the tower," Michiko said.

"Then let's go," Maemi said and started walking again.

It wasn't long until they were within feet of the tower. They were almost free from this retched forest. "We're almost there. I'm surprised we didn't run into anyone. I guess everyone's either dead, passed, or somewhere else," Jiro said.

"I'm not dead, but you three will," a voice said.

"Shit…" Maemi muttered. His shoulder had healed, but the memory brought pain to his shoulder again.

Yasuo and his team walked out from the forest. "You took our scroll. We'll take it back now. Yours as well."

"Same rules Yasuo," Maemi said. "You want it, you'll have to beat me."

"Again? Didn't I kick your ass hard enough last time?"

"I didn't tap into the powers of the Gobi then. This time I will," Maemi said, smiling. Yasuo grinned in his evil way.

"If your so eager to die so be it," Yasuo said. He charged into the battle. Maemi went to punch him but the sand blocked his punch.

"Damn it. Forgot about that," Maemi muttered under his breath. Yasuo laughed as he spun around, kicking Maemi on his back to the ground. Maemi spun on the ground, kicking Yasuo to trip him. He kicked the sand but the effect still worked.

"Damn you," Yasuo yelled.

"TETSU SOURAN NO JUTSU!" Maemi yelled, focusing the power on his hands again. He grinned at Yasuo on the ground.

"Damn," Yasuo muttered and pushed away.

"Five minutes Yasuo. This time I will beat you." This time Maemi charged Yasuo. His punches making contact with Yasuo. Occasionally Maemi would grab Yasuo by the arm to cause him pain and lose the ability to use it for a while. Maemi went to punch Yasuo one last time in the face, but his sand blocked it.

_Damn it! _Maemi thought, sweat dripping down his face, _I was so close._

Yasuo grinned at Maemi. "Your five minutes are up. Looks like you couldn't beat me," He said. He spit blood from his mouth. "Say hello to Ichibi for me." Yasuo started the hand signs again. Maemi went to kick but the sand blocked.

"Shit," Maemi said and jumped away. Within moments the Ichibi was in control of Yasuo's body.

"Two times in one day. Today's my lucky day," Yasuo said.

Maemi went inside himself. To find the power of the Gobi. He needed this strength more then ever now. But he couldn't find it. Something was blocking the path to the Gobi's power.

"Damn," Maemi muttered, barely dodging one of Yasuo's punches. _Michiko usually gets hurt when I get the Gobi's power. I wish I could figure out how to use it without hurting her._ Maemi thought.

Maemi jumped over Yasuo as he charged again. Maemi's best bet right now was to just tire Yasuo out. But it could backfire and he could tire out before Yasuo did. It was a chance he would have to take if he planned on beating Yasuo.

Yasuo charged and Maemi dashed to the side. Yasuo had expected this and tripped him. Yasuo stepped on Maemi's chest, pressing all the air out of his lungs. "Die," Yasuo said, the sand spike forming on his hand again. He thrust it downward. Maemi didn't have the chance to perform the replacement jutsu. He didn't have the time to do anything. The last thing he remembered was the surrounding blackness.

----------

A blast of energy pushed Ichibi off Maemi. The sand seeming to dissolve off his hand. "What the?" Ichibi said. The body of Maemi stood. Chakra could literally be seen around his body. His hair rustled slightly from this immense power. Maemi grinned. His teeth were sharp now, his canines were longer then the other teeth.

"Ichibi, you've been wanting to see me?" the words came from Maemi's mouth, but it sounded a bit warped and deeper.

"Gobi, long time no see. No I have the pleasure of killing you like I almost did those centuries ago," Ichibi said.

"I don't think so," Gobi started. He then did the hands signs for a jutsu. "TETSU SOURAN NO JUTSU!"

Metal from around them flew towards Gobi. As the metal reached him it melted and surrounded his body. If it wasn't for the sand, Ichibi would be defenseless. Soon, Gobi had a full set of liquid armor.

"Five minutes enough for you?" Ichibi taunted.

"Why stop at five minutes? I'll toy with you for the full hour," Gobi said, an evil grin on Maemi's face.

"Um… Maemi! I mean Gobi! Um… we only have a half hour to get to the tower. So please, don't mess with him too much. We need to pass this exam," Michiko yelled.

Gobi growled at this order. "Your lucky your meaningful to my host." Gobi barked. He then turned to Ichibi. "Looks like five minutes will have to do." A lance formed around Maemi's arm. A sand lance formed around Yasuo's. Both bijyuus charged each other.

A blinding light filled the air. All went black for Gobi.

----------

Michiko watched the whole thing. Gobi and Ichibi had charged each other. Ichibi was outmatched. Since the sand lacked the iron it wasn't as strong as normal. Gobi's lance and sliced right through it. The tip of the lance grazed the side of Yasuo's head but still cut it. Gobi collapsed moments after Ichibi did.

Michiko and Jiro ran to Maemi's side. Michiko held Maemi's head in her lap. His eyes then flickered open. "Did… did I win?" he asked.

"You sure did. Now hurry up and stand so we can get to the tower," Michiko said.

Maemi stood up a few minutes later, brushing himself off. They all ran to the tower they were about to pass.

----------

The three of them hurried up the stairs of the tower. When they reached the top Jiro and Maemi opened their scrolls. "Summoning scroll, run!" Michiko yelled. They threw down their scrolls and ran to the other end of the room. Smoke rose from the scrolls and started to fill the room. When it cleared a woman stood there. She wore the leaf headband proudly around her neck.

She looked at them and dug her hand into a pocket. She took out a pocket watch and popped it open for a second, before closing it and putting it back in her pocket.

"You three lucked out," She said, "A moment latter and you all would have failed. Congratulations on passing the exam." She said with a slight smile. They could tell she could care less if they passed or not, she didn't want to be there at all.

Michiko jumped into Maemi's arms in glee. All three of them were overwhelmed with joy. They had come close to failing the exam twice. And now they were one steep closer to becoming Chuunin. After they calmed the Chuunin explained to them what it was to be a Chuunin. Then she told them that they had five minutes to get down to the stadium for further instructions from the Hokage. The Chuunin escorted them outside the gates of the Forest of Death and to their next challage.


End file.
